Faiq Shaikh

18F-FDG PET/CT Imaging of Extranodal Rosai-Dorfman Disease with Hepatopancreatic Involvement - A Pictorial and Literature Review

We share our experience with serial PET/CT imaging on a patient with extranodal Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) with hepatopancreatic involvement. RDD is a benign proliferative disorder of histiocytes mainly involving the lymph nodes. It typically presents with fever and painless cervical lymphadenopathy in young adults and less than half of RDS cases demonstrate extranodal involvement. RDD involvement of the liver and pancreas is extremely rare, and this case highlights the role of PET/CT in its management.

Diagnostic Yield of FDG-PET/CT, MRI, and CSF Cytology in Non-Biopsiable Neurolymphomatosis as a Heralding Sign of Recurrent Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Neurolymphomatosis (NL) is a rare condition associated with lymphomas in which various structures of the nervous system are infiltrated by malignant lymphocytes. Rarely, it may be the presenting feature of recurrence of lymphoma otherwise deemed to be in remission. It is crucial, as is the case with all types of nodal or visceral involvement of lymphoma, to identify the disease early and initiate treatment with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) has been shown to be a sensitive modality for staging, restaging, biopsy guidance, therapy response assessment, and surveillance for recurrence of lymphoma. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is another useful imaging modality, which, along with PET/CT, compliment cerebrospinal spinal fluid (CSF) cytology and electromyography (EMG) in the diagnosis of NL. Performing nerve biopsies to confirm neurolymphomatosis can be challenging and with associated morbidity. The case presented herein illustrates the practical usefulness of these tests in detecting NL as a heralding feature of lymphoma recurrence, especially in the absence of histopathologic correlation.

Imaging, Endoscopic and Genetic Assessment of Marfan Syndrome Presenting with Sigmoid Volvulus: A Review

The Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a pleiotropic, autosomal dominant disorder of connective tissue with highly variable clinical manifestations. It primarily involves the skeletal, cardiovascular, and ocular systems; however, gastrointestinal complications are rare. Herein, we describe the case of a 31-year-old male who initially presented with acute abdominal pain for one day. His imaging features revealed a dilated sigmoid colon, consistent with sigmoid volvulus that was immediately decompressed. Surgical resection was recommended to treat the sigmoid volvulus. Preceding the treatment, the patient underwent an extensive workup, including an echocardiography that revealed aortic root dilatation. His clinical history, physical exam, and echocardiographic findings raised the suspicion for MFS. Subsequently, the diagnosis of MFS was confirmed on genetic testing. This is a case that highlights the multidisciplinary (clinical, radiological, endoscopic, molecular/genetic) approach to diagnose a patient with MFS who presented with symptomatic sigmoid volvulus. As this presentation may be a harbinger of more severe manifestations of MFS, it is important to identify it as such in order to accomodate for timely management.

Translational Radiomics: Defining the Strategy Pipeline and Considerations for Application—Part 1: From Methodology to Clinical Implementation

Enterprise imaging has channeled various technological innovations to the field of clinical radiology, ranging from advanced imaging equipment and postacquisition iterative reconstruction tools to image analysis and computer-aided detection tools. More recently, the advancements in the field of quantitative image analysis coupled with machine learning-based data analytics, classification, and integration have ushered us into the era of radiomics, which has tremendous potential in clinical decision support as well as drug discovery. There are important issues to consider to incorporate radiomics as a clinically applicable system and a commercially viable solution. In this two-part series, we offer insights into the development of the translational pipeline for radiomics from methodology to clinical implementation (Part 1) and from that to enterprise development (Part 2).

Translational Radiomics: Defining the Strategy Pipeline and Considerations for Application—Part 2: From Clinical Implementation to Enterprise

Enterprise imaging has channeled various technological innovations to the field of clinical radiology, ranging from advanced imaging equipment and postacquisition iterative reconstruction tools to image analysis and computer-aided detection tools. More recently, the advancement in the field of quantitative image analysis coupled with machine learning-based data analytics, classification, and integration has ushered in the era of radiomics, a paradigm shift that holds tremendous potential in clinical decision support as well as drug discovery. However, there are important issues to consider to incorporate radiomics into a clinically applicable system and a commercially viable solution. In this two-part series, we offer insights into the development of the translational pipeline for radiomics from methodology to clinical implementation (Part 1) and from that point to enterprise development (Part 2). In Part 2 of this two-part series, we study the components of the strategy pipeline, from clinical implementation to building enterprise solutions.

RSNA Diagnosis Live: A Novel Web-based Audience Response Tool to Promote Evidence-based Learning

Audience response systems have become more commonplace in radiology residency programs in the last 10 years, as a means to engage learners and promote improved learning and retention. A variety of systems are currently in use. RSNA Diagnosis Live™ provides unique features that are innovative, particularly for radiology resident education. One specific example is the ability to annotate questions with subspecialty tags, which allows resident performance to be tracked over time. In addition, deficiencies in learning can be monitored for each trainee and analytics can be provided, allowing documentation of resident performance improvement. Finally, automated feedback is given not only to the instructor, but also to the trainee. Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Value-Based Assessment of Radiology Reporting Using Radiologist-Referring Physician Two-Way Feedback System—a Design Thinking-Based Approach

In the era of value-based healthcare, many aspects of medical care are being measured and assessed to improve quality and reduce costs. Radiology adds enormously to health care costs and is under pressure to adopt a more efficient system that incorporates essential metrics to assess its value and impact on outcomes. Most current systems tie radiologists’ incentives and evaluations to RVU-based productivity metrics and peer-review-based quality metrics. In a new potential model, a radiologist’s performance will have to increasingly depend on a number of parameters that define “value,” beginning with peer review metrics that include referrer satisfaction and feedback from radiologists to the referring physician that evaluates the potency and validity of clinical information provided for a given study. These new dimensions of value measurement will directly impact the cascade of further medical management. We share our continued experience with this project that had two components: RESP (Referrer Evaluation System Pilot) and FRACI (Feedback from Radiologist Addressing Confounding Issues), which were introduced to the clinical radiology workflow in order to capture referrer-based and radiologist-based feedback on radiology reporting. We also share our insight into the principles of design thinking as applied in its planning and execution.

Technical Challenges in the Clinical Application of Radiomics

Radiomics is a quantitative approach to medical image analysis targeted at deciphering the morphologic and functional features of a lesion. Radiomic methods can be applied across various malignant conditions to identify tumor phenotype characteristics in the images that correlate with their likelihood of survival, as well as their association with the underlying biology. Identifying this set of characteristic features, called tumor signature, holds tremendous value in predicting the behavior and progression of cancer, which in turn has the potential to predict its response to various therapeutic options. We discuss the technical challenges encountered in the application of radiomics, in terms of methodology, workflow integration, and user experience, that need to be addressed to harness its true potential.

Sinonasal NUT-Midline Carcinoma - A Multimodality Approach to Diagnosis, Staging and Post-Surgical Restaging.

Nuclear protein testis (NUT) midline carcinoma is a rare malignancy involving predominantly the midline structures of the body. It is characterized by its genotypic feature of BRD4-NUT translocation, which is in contrast with other malignant processes that are usually categorized based on their histologic/phenotypic features. As these tumors may vary in their histologic presentation, they can be misdiagnosed as poorly differentiated carcinomas. Moreover, they are often very aggressive and associated with high mortality. Therefore, it is extremely important to diagnose them early using computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and perform staging and restaging using 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18-FDG PET/CT), in addition to accurately identifying them at a microscopic and molecular level. We report a unique case of a sinonasal NUT midline carcinoma that was diagnosed with CT, staged with PET/CT, and restaged using PET/CT and MRI.

Clinical Context Generation for Imaging: A Design Thinking-based Analysis of a Pilot Project

Design Thinking is a method for the practical, creative resolution of problems using the strategies used during the process of designing. It is increasingly being used in Medical enterprise to develop a solution-based approach to identify ambiguous problems and create alternative paths to the solution. We faced several challenges in the development of a clinical context generation tool and in this article, we retrospectively assess the usefulness of a Design Thinking approach had it been applied to a project related to Medical Imaging-related clinical context generation.