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It’s been well documented that players in sports with higher rates of head injuries tend to have higher rates of later cognitive impairment, but predicting which athletes will be affected is still more art than science. A new study of professional fighters, however—one of the largest longitudinal studies of brain health in contact sports—offers hope for more empirical methods of identifying at-risk athletes. Find out how researchers are shedding light on this poorly understood phenomenon in this month’s e-News Exclusive. — Dave Yeager, editor MRI May Help Predict Cognitive Impairment in Professional Fighters Images of the brain’s gray and white matter obtained with multiple MRI techniques can help identify and track cognitive impairment in active professional fighters, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. Fighters are exposed to repeated mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), which has been associated with neurodegenerative disorders, as well as mood and movement dysfunction. A tool that could find signs, or biomarkers, of mTBI-related brain damage would be an invaluable asset in helping fighters and their physicians understand their risk of cognitive impairment, while potentially speeding interventions and contributing to the study and development of drugs designed to slow or reverse cognitive decline. Much previous research on the subject has focused on either the brain’s neuron-containing gray matter or the fiber tracts in the white matter. For this new study, researchers combined two MRI techniques—T1-weighted MRI and diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI)—to look at both types of brain tissue. Full story »   e-News Exclusive They Could Be Heroes Imaging Across the Spectrum Chart a Course for Success Improved Focus New MRI Contrast Agent Tested on Big Animals World’s Brightest Laser Could Pave Way for Lower-Radiation X-rays X-ray Finds Unique Fingerprint in Medieval Manuscript Ink Lung CT Scans Can Help People Quit Smoking Worth Repeating

New MRI Contrast Agent Tested on Big Animals A team formed by the Institute for Basic Science at the Center for Nanoparticle Research, in collaboration with Anhui Provincial Hospital and Seoul National University Hospital, has tested a nontoxic contrast agent for MRI and MR angiography on dogs, rabbits, and monkeys. As published in Nature Biomedical Engineering and reported by phys.org, the contrast agent, similar to gadolinium, caused no obvious toxicity. World’s Brightest Laser Could Pave Way for Lower-Radiation X-rays A team of researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have conducted an experiment using their Diocles Laser, the world’s brightest laser, finding that it can transform light into X-rays. Though the light emitted had X-ray properties, the electrons behaved differently compared with conventional X-rays. As reported by Fox News, the researchers believe these X-rays could be less harmful and provide higher resolution than current CT machines. X-ray Finds Unique Fingerprint in Medieval Manuscript Ink Using X-ray fluorescence and spectral imaging analysis, researchers studied pages from the Cornell University Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections dating from the 13th and 16th centuries. The researchers discovered traces of the element barium on many of the pages, opening up a method to help track and identify documents. Lung CT Scans Can Help People Quit Smoking Researchers in London have found that smokers who get a lung CT scan are more likely to start a smoking cessation program, regardless of the outcome of the scan. The findings, reported by Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, dispute the belief that a screening with clear results encourages a “license to smoke” mentality. Have a product or service you want to market to radiology professionals or an open position that you need to fill quickly? Radiology Today offers many flexible advertising programs designed to maximize your results. From print advertising to e-newsletter sponsorships, website advertising to direct mail opportunities, Radiology Today helps achieve your goals. Email our experienced account executives today for more information or call 800-278-4400! Coming up in our September issue is our Annual Buyers’ Guide. Contact sales for more information. AlliedHealthCareers.com is the premier online resource to recruit radiology professionals. Post your open positions, view résumés, and showcase your facility's offerings all at AlliedHealthCareers.com! Radiology Today's Physician Recruitment Center gives physician recruiters a powerful tool to satisfy their current needs. An ideal option for recruiters looking to fill partnership opportunities, academic appointments, and hospital staff positions, the Physician Recruitment Center is visited regularly by radiologists and other imaging physicians during their frequent trips to our website for the best coverage of industry news and trends. Radiology Today's online gift shop features a wide variety of items for radiology professionals. Choose from t-shirts, journals, clocks, buttons, mouse pads, and much more! Check out our secure online shop today or call toll-free 877-809-1659 for easy and fast ordering.   They Could Be Heroes A documentary series helps shine a light on patients undergoing minimally invasive, image-guided procedures and the interventional radiologists who treat them. Read more » Imaging Across the Spectrum Spectral imaging and other advances offer new possibilities for CT as image quality, resolution, and improvements in workflow are becoming more important to customers. Read more » Chart a Course for Success Clinical specialists and executives are developing and implementing enterprise imaging strategies to chart a course toward consolidated patient data. Read more » Improved Focus MR-guided focused ultrasound is proving to be a safe, effective treatment for tumors in children and young adults. Read more » “It’s not enough to diagnois and treat. You have to see the human side. You have to have employees that not only know their own job tasks, they need to know their role in the human experience.” — Jake Poore, keynote speaker at the 2017 AHRA Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California, on the leader’s role in building and sustaining exceptional patient experiences A Secure, Anonymous Résumé Bank Job Alerts Sent to Your E-mail The nation's top employers and recruiters of radiology professionals advertise in Radiology Today magazine and post their job openings on AlliedHealthCareers.com and the Physician Recruitment Center. Check out the most recent opportunities that have been submitted by employers from across the country! Set up Job Alerts and create your online Résumé to let potential employers find you today!