Decompressing after RSNA 2013, I took a moment to watch “Falling Down” with Michael Douglas. I always read the credits at the end of movies, mostly for the bit players. The main characters everyone knows — the Douglases and the Duvalls. I feel like the bit characters deserve some attention. There, five down from the top and two above Mr. De Fens’ mother, was a credit that shook me — Tuesday Weld as Mrs. Prendergast.

If the exhibit floor of the 99th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) had one standout modality this year, it was, without question, the advances with premium computed tomography (CT). Technological and clinical advances in magnetic resonance (MR) and molecular imaging were less impressive but were no less significant. Naturally, these developments in every advanced imaging modality are turning eyes to advanced visualization (AV) and clinical applications. AV is not just a core step in the interpretation workflow of each of these modalities. More than that, it is the set of solutions that will allow the realization of the promises of these imaging advances — the ones that will “make sense” of these upgraded imaging capabilities by using innovative ways to interrogate their improved image depth and visualize their enhanced image quality.

The Cancer Center at Banner Health McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Colo., boasts an array of state-of-the-art technologies and well-qualified staff, but at the core of its mission is the northern Colorado community it serves. “The community is significant, as many local funds were raised for the cancer center, which definitely makes it a community center,” said McKee Cancer Center Director Cindy McBlair, MHA, (R)(T).

Throughout the years, imaging technologies have continued to improve for the screening and detection of cancer in the breast. While traditional mammography, ranging from film-screen to full-field digital mammography (FFDM) remains the gold standard for routine screening of women over 40 (or women over 50, per the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines that were issued in 2009), enhanced forms of mammography, as well as uses for the combination of mammography with other imaging modalities, are emerging.

Better management of X-ray radiation doses starts with recording and tracking each exposure patients receive. Dose tracking has come to the forefront of medicine in recent years with the realization that medical imaging has doubled the public’s exposure to ionizing radiation since the 1980s, largely due to the rapid expansion of computed tomography (CT) and minimally invasive angiography procedures.

The American College of Radiology applauded steps to reign in medical imaging and radiation oncology self-referral included in President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget. However, prior authorization for imaging services, also included the FY 2015 budget, is unnecessary and will ultimately raise costs, interfere in the doctor-patient relationship and restrict ready access to imaging care.