The ASRT has announced the recipients of the Radiologic Technology Distinguished Author Award in Honor of Jean I. Widger and the Radiation Therapist Distinguished Author Award in Honor of Harold Silverman, recognizing the best peer-reviewed articles published in ASRT’s scientific journals in 2015. Presented annually, the Widger and Silverman awards are chosen by members of each journal’s respective Editorial Review Board after a comprehensive review of all scholarly articles published in the journals during the previous calendar year.
Haney Alsleem, Ph.D., M.Sc.(MI), B.Sc., and Robert Davidson, Ph.D., M.App.Sc.(MI), B.Bus., FIR, earned the Widger award for their article “Radiographers’ Ability to Detect Low-Contrast Detail in Digital Radiography Systems,” which was published in the September/October 2015 issue of Radiologic Technology.
Dr. Alsleem is assistant professor of medical imaging in the College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Dammam, in Saudi Arabia. Dr. Alsleem is involved with radiation dose and image quality optimization in medical imaging equipment, including computed tomography and digital radiography. Dr. Davidson is the inaugural professor of medical imaging in the Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, in Australia. His research focuses on dose and image quality in CT and digital image processing in medical imaging.
The study used a low-contrast detail phantom to evaluate radiographers’ ability to detect detail using various digital planar radiographic systems. Compared with the results of analyzer software, the study found that radiographers performed significantly worse than the computerized software in determining low-contrast detail in planar radiographic images. Because radiographers are responsible for image quality optimization, the researchers concluded that additional training might improve radiographers’ ability to detect low-contrast detail in direct radiography systems.
Timmerie F. Cohen, Ph.D., R.T.(R)(T), CMD; Jeffrey S. Legg, Ph.D., R.T.(R)(CT)(QM), FASRT; and Melanie C. Dempsey, Ph.D., R.T.(R)(T), CMD, FAAMD, earned the Silverman award for their article, “The Effect of Vertical Off-Centering on Breast Dose During CT Simulation in Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation Planning,” which was published in the fall 2015 issue of Radiation Therapist.
All of the authors work for Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Radiation Sciences in Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Cohen is assistant professor and clinical coordinator of radiation therapy for the School of Allied Health Professions. Dr. Legg is associate professor and chair of the department. He also is associate editor for the Americas for Radiography. Dr. Dempsey is the radiation therapy program director for the School of Allied Health Professions.
Their study sought to determine whether vertical off-centering during CT simulation of accelerated partial breast irradiation influences breast dose. Using an adult anthropomorphic phantom, the researchers placed thermoluminescent dosimeters in various locations and depths in a phantom’s breast tissue. The study concluded that limiting CT simulation procedures in favor of nonionizing imaging studies, such as ultrasonography, and proper CT optimization that includes properly centering patients can reduce radiation dose to breast tissue.
The Widger award is named after long-time Radiologic Technology editor Jean I. Widger. The Silverman award is named in honor of radiation therapist Harold Silverman, an advocate for accreditation of radiation therapy educational programs.
The ASRT will honor the recipients at the Honors Evening Event on June 24 at the ASRT Annual Governance and House of Delegates Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada.