Sir Peter Mansfield died

Sir Peter Mansfield

Professor Sir Peter Mansfield FRS,
1933-2017

Tributes have been paid to Nobel laureate Professor Sir Peter Mansfield, who has died at the age of 83.

Sir Peter pioneered the creation of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), one of the most important and revolutionary breakthroughs in modern medical science.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2003 for his role in the development of MRI, which is used today in research, diagnosis and the treatment of millions of patients around the world.

The Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre at The University of Nottingham was named in honour of his pioneering work to change the face of modern medical science.

ULTRASOUND and PULMONARY EMBOLISM

Ultrasound elevates diagnosis of pulmonary embolism

By Erik L. Ridley, AuntMinnie staff writer

February 8, 2017 -- Adding lung and venous ultrasound into the diagnostic process for pulmonary embolism (PE) can yield improved sensitivity and specificity, obviating the need for CT pulmonary angiography in many cases, according to research that will be published in the March issue of Academic Emergency Medicine.

In a multicenter study involving more than 400 patients, an Italian research team found that combining lung and venous ultrasound, Wells score, and D-dimer test results would have avoided the need to perform CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) in half of cases with suspected PE. In comparison, a traditional approach based only on the Wells score would have bypassed CTPA in just over 25% of the patients, concluded the team led by Dr. Peiman Nazerian from Careggi University Hospital in Florence.

As a result, a diagnostic strategy that integrates clinical information, lung and venous ultrasound, and D-dimer results "may increase the performance of risk stratification and may reduce the use of CTPA in the diagnostic approach to PE, [while] still maintaining an acceptable safety profile," the authors wrote.