Academic Programs

VMI (Volumetric Medical Imaging)
Can your Tech do 3D?

Advances in technology are increasingly changing the work flow in radiology for hospitals and imaging centers.  One of the greatest challenges is how to incorporate the post-processing of volumetric data.  While some physicians have tackled this task, most do not have the ability or the desire to devote hours of their valuable time at the workstation reconstructing data rather than reading it.  The recognition that post processing requires an advanced skill set is also indicated by the hospitals that have begun outsourcing this work.

A more cost-effective alternative is to assign this responsibility to technologists.  However, quality outcomes require a solid collaboration between the physicians and technologists. First, an investment must be made in educating the technologists.  This requires much more than three days of applications training.  They need to learn cross-sectional anatomy as well as basic patho-physiology.  They also need a solid understanding of the tools available in the software.  Curriculum-based education is essential to ensure that technologists comprehend how they are manipulating the data.  Significant findings can be obscured or distorted on a case if the images are not processed correctly.  Physician supervision and guidance is a key part of this learning experience whereby 3D techs learn to present the data in a way that is most beneficial to an accurate diagnosis. The second component of the commitment to advanced image processing is to provide the time necessary to complete the reconstructions.  This will require more than the few spare minutes between patients in the scanning room.  Hospitals need to adapt to the change in work flow that volume reconstruction requires.

Image post processing is becoming an indispensable tool in radiology.  It demands a certain cost to your organization, both in terms of human capital and real dollars.  A well-educated technologist may become the physician's liaison between the scanning and reading room.  How will your institution embrace this emerging technology?