Bringing innovation to the patient care team
As approaches to patient care continue to evolve, the appreciation of radiologists who have increased their use of technology to enhance the medical care team, has evolved along with it. “In the past, there was a department of radiology and a department of surgery, and each worked in their own silos,” said Dr. Mettenburg. “Now we are bridging and integrating between different silos. And that allows the radiologist to have a more active role.”

Dr. Mettenburg was quick to point out that even though the goal for radiologists may be to be more visible, it is still not a profession focused on a lead role in patient engagement. “At UPMC we have weekly multi-disciplinary patient care team meetings where active decision-making takes place. We get together in the same room, assemble all data, and come to consensus.” In other words, “Radiologists are an active part of patient management, but the patient is not in the room.”
National radiological groups may want to increase the visibility of radiologists, so patients can put a face to the name. Equally important, however, is for radiologists and departments of radiology to bring something new to the table that both enhances patient care and contributes to the institution’s bottom line. Leveraging new technologies to advance assessments and help pinpoint diagnoses more efficiently is one way that’s achieved.

Mettenburg explained that, in general, radiologists are innovative, but integrating new technology into their practice can be a challenge, when it comes to defining a return on investment. If ROI is defined as providing radiologists with increased confidence in their assessment because there is quantifiable data to support it, then that could be an important step toward greater acceptance of new technologies.

Dr. Mettenburg concluded, “Everyone becomes stronger in all situations when we create a common language of terms and meanings. The education process around the use of volumetric software happens over time. The more we present the patient data, and collaborate, these same people become familiar with, and want to apply, the technology.”

Continuing research for broader acceptance
Volumetric software research that may help bring a broader understanding and treatment for a diversity of neurological disorders, from depression and fragile X syndrome, to multiple sclerosis, to Rett and Tourette syndromes.

Additional research Mettenburg uses volumetric software for includes NFL and military-blast studies of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the neurodegenerative disease found in people who have had multiple head injuries. And he is working with a neurologist who wants to use the software to see if it will help identify volume loss in the thalamus or elsewhere, to support the theory that volume loss can be a better predictor of multiple sclerosis disease progression.

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