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Speech recognition (SR), available since the 1980s, has only recently become sufficiently reliable to allow utilization in medical environment. This study measured the effect of SR for the radiological dictation process and estimated differences in report turnaround times (RTTs). During the transition from cassette-based reporting to SR, the workflow of 14 radiologists was periodically followed up for 2 years in a university hospital. The sample size was more than 20,000 examinations, and the radiologists were the same throughout the study. A RTT was defined as the time from imaging at the modality to the time when the report was available for the clinician. SR cut down RTTs by 81% and the standard deviation by 83%. The proportion of reports available within 1 h escalated from 26% to 58%. The proportion of reports created by SR increased during a follow-up time of this study from 0% up to 88%. SR decreases turnaround times and may thus speed up the whole patient care process by facilitating online reporting. SR was easily adopted and well accepted by radiologists. Our findings encourage the utilization of SR, which improves the productivity and accelerates the workflow with excellent end-user satisfaction.

Abstract. The Linked Data paradigm has made significant inroads into research and practice around spatial information and it is time to reflect on what this means for GIScience. Technically, Linked Data is just data in the simplest possible data model (that of triples), allowing for linking records or data sets anywhere across the web using controlled semantics. Conceptually, Linked Data offers radically new ways of thinking about, structuring, publishing, discovering, accessing, and integrating data. It is of particular novelty and value to the producers and users of geographic data, as these are commonly thought to require more complex data models. The paper explains the main innovations brought about by Linked Data and demonstrates them with examples. It concludes that many longstanding problems in GIScience have become approachable in novel ways, while new and more specific research challenges emerge.

Objectives. We compared five parathyroid scintigraphy protocols in patients with primary (pHPT) and secondary hyperparathyroidism (sHPT) and studied the interobserver agreement. The dual-tracer method (99mTc-sestamibi/123I) was used with three acquisition techniques (parallel-hole planar, pinhole planar, and SPECT/CT). The single-tracer method (99mTc-sestamibi) was used with two acquisition techniques (double-phase parallel-hole planar, and SPECT/CT). Thus five protocols were used, resulting in five sets of images. Materials and Methods. Image sets of 51 patients were retrospectively graded by four experienced nuclear medicine physicians. The final study group consisted of 24 patients (21 pHPT, 3 sHPT) who had been operated upon. Surgical and histopathologic findings were used as the standard of comparison. Results. Thirty abnormal parathyroid glands were found in 24 patients. The sensitivities of the dual-tracer method (76.7–80.0%) were similar (P = 1.0). The sensitivities of the single-tracer method (13.3–31.6%) were similar (P = 0.625). All differences in sensitivity between these two methods were statistically significant (P < 0.012). The interobserver agreement was good. Conclusion. This study indicates that any dual-tracer protocol with 99mTc-sestamibi and 123I is superior for enlarged parathyroid gland localization when compared with single-tracer protocols using 99mTc-sestamibi alone. The parathyroid scintigraphy was found to be independent of the reporter.