RSNA (Radiological Society of North America) is the largest annual trade show in the world, with about 55,000 people in attendance for the 6 day event in Chicago, Illinois. The expo includes a large number of presentations and courses on science and modern radiology.

RSNA 2011’s two main themes were lower radiation dose in diagnostic radiology imaging (especially CT) and new technology. For lower dose, there was much material on tailoring a CT scan exactly to an individual patient – based on their body size, their cardiac output, their disease process, or the type of diagnostic challenge. Additionally, a lot about new iterative reconstructions in CT – both statistical and model based, was presented. Either method lowers dose a lot, but model based results in lowered radiation exposure by up to 80%.

New technology presentations and courses covered a range of topics including dual energy CT for better tissue characterization, and the combination of imaging modalities in one platform – like SPECT/CT, or PET/MR. These combined modalities may provide a better combination of disease identification plus precise localization.

In all, RSNA 2011 offered great insights and interesting presentations. Did you attend? Share your thoughts below!