ABC News Report Details the Importance of Subspecialty Interpretations

Brentwood, TN- February 2, 2009 - A recent report by ABC's Good Morning America may prompt more patients to ask themselves a very pertinent question, "Who is reading my MRI?" The story aired Sunday, January 25th, 2009 and takes us through the emotional journey of patient Katie Vincent. In December 2007, twenty-four year old Katie began experiencing excruciating leg pain. After numerous visits to different physicians and with no relief from pain medications, Katie finally convinced her doctor to order a MRI. Katie and her family, however, were shocked to discover that the radiologist's report stated that everything was normal.

With pain, determination, and the original MRI report in hand, Katie insisted on getting additional opinions. Somewhere between her trips to an orthopaedic surgeon and a cancer specialist, Katie was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This cancer would have been missed had Katie and her mother not fought to get a second reading on her MRI. According to Dr. William Bradley, Chairman of Radiology at the University of California San Diego, "If she had stopped with a quote, normal reading, and nothing further would have happened on this, she would have died."

The reality is, misdiagnosed MRIs happen far too often and lead to a myriad of unfortunate outcomes for patients. A key contributor to the missed diagnoses is the lack of subspecialized interpretation of MR images. Dr. Bradley points out that radiologists with focused training in one area of the body are more sensitive to the nuances in the scans. Dr. Vivian Lee, President of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance, added, "That ability to be able to concentrate on specific pathologies, I think is very important in terms of being the best at interpreting those images."

"The ABC report provides important emphasis of what we have long maintained," stated Dr. Michael Stadnick, Radsource's Medical Director. "Although many factors determine the quality of an MRI examination, there is no doubt that the expertise of the interpreting physician is a critical component towards ensuring an accurate diagnosis."

Unlike some patients, Katie's story has a happy ending as her misdiagnosis was caught before her cancer could severely progress. She spent the summer of 2008 in and out of the hospital, undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, but as the piece aired, Katie was once again a healthy and vibrant young lady encouraging people everywhere to ask themselves, "Who IS reading my MRI?"

Click here to read the full story:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Story?id=6355703&page=2

Or here to watch Katie's interview on Good Morning America:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=6725687

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