While it is undeniable that better machines will aid in the diagnostic process of patients, one other important aspect is the provision of the vital clinical data to the reporting radiologists. As emphasized to many clinicians before, many diseases share similar findings on imaging. A consolidation on chest X-ray maybe due to infection, cancer (bronchioalveolar carcinoma, lymphoma), aspiration, contusion (trauma), fluid overload, drowning etc.
Radiologists also read everyday, all the time! A radiologist who claims that he hardly reads or need not read is either lazy or a super veteran who has read most and remembered most. I hardly find the latter despite working with some "super senior" radiologists in busy centres like GHKL or HUKM. In my collection, I have almost RM20K worth of reference materials. I also subscribe to online journals to keep abreast with current development in the field of radiology.
Featured in this article is the picture of Signa Profile III GE MRI machine. I have personally made hundreds of diagnoses on this machine. Despite its modest 0.2 Tesla magnetic field strength, its open core presentation enables comfortable scan in most patients. It's strength is really in CNS and MSK systems.
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