ALBUQUERQUE - The American Society of Radiologic Technologists announced the winners of two awards for outstanding peer-reviewed journal articles - the Jean I. Widger Distinguished Author Award for Radiologic Technology and the Harold Silverman-Radiation Therapist Distinguished Author Award.

Michael Madden, Ph.D., R.T.(R)(CT)(MR), received the Widger Award for his article, "The Magic-angle Effect of the Supraspinatus Tendon," published in the May/June 2006 issue of ASRT's journal, Radiologic Technology. Named for former long-time Radiologic Technology editor Jean I. Widger, the Widger Award annually recognizes the best peer-reviewed research published in the journal. This year's winning article discussed results from a study that was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of the magic-angle effect, an artifact found on MR imaging of the supraspinatus tendon.

The magic-angle effect occurs when collagen fibers in the supraspinatus tendon produce a high signal on MR that can be confused with rotator cuff tears or degenerative tendonopathy and can lead to false-positive results. Approximately 5 percent of healthy patients in the sample studied demonstrated this type of artifact, a lower incidence rate than previous research. The findings also suggest that external rotation of the arm during MR imaging greatly reduces the occurrence of the magic-angle effect.
The Silverman Award, named for Harold Silverman, a pioneer educator in radiation therapy, is presented to authors whose published article deserves recognition for its outstanding contribution to the profession with respect to an advancement of some phase of the art, science or technology. Mark Raymond, Ph.D.; Joan O'Brien, M.S.Ed., R.T.(T); Brian Laplander, B.S., R.T.(R)(T); and Richard Harris, Ph.D., are the authors of the winning article, "The Influence of Demographic Variables on Radiation Therapist Practice," which appeared in the Fall 2005 issue of Radiation Therapist.

The article, which was based on the results of a practice analysis conducted by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, described the job responsibilities of radiation therapists working in various employment settings throughout the United States. The practice analysis also examined the types of equipment and instrumentation used by radiation therapists. The study states, "Results indicate that radiation therapists are involved in a wide range of clinical activities, and that the use of modern equipment and treatment technologies ... is becoming more common. More importantly, specific job responsibilities depend to a large extent on employment setting and size of the facility." The findings will be used to update clinical competency requirements and test specifications for the ARRT's radiation therapy examination and will be of interest to the radiation therapy education community.

Award-winning articles are selected by judging panels composed of each publication's Editorial Review Board. The panels select the winning articles from eligible peer-reviewed articles published during a specific period. Each prize comes with a $1,000 award and a plaque.

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