From the December 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Jean I. Widger Distinguished Author Award
The award honors the best peer-reviewed articles published in ASRT’s scientific journals. The award is named after longtime Radiologic Technology editor Jean I. Widger. Dr. Haney Alsleem, M.Sc.(MI), B.Sc., and Dr. Robert Davidson, 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. Alsleem is assistant professor of medical imaging for the College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Dammam, in Saudi Arabia. Alsleem is involved with radiation dose and image quality optimization in medical imaging equipment, including computed tomography and digital radiography. 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. Their study used a low contrast detail phantom to evaluate radiographers’ ability to detect low-contrast 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.
Harold Silverman Distinguished Author Award
The award is named in honor of radiation therapist Harold Silverman, an advocate for accreditation of radiation therapy educational programs. This award also honors the best peer-reviewed articles published in ASRT’s Radiation Therapist.
Dr. Timmerie F. Cohen, R.T.(R)(T), CMD; Dr. Jeffrey S. Legg, Ph.D., R.T.(R)(CT)(QM), FASRT; and Dr. Melanie C. Dempsey, 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. Cohen is assistant professor and clinical coordinator of radiation therapy for the School of Allied Health Professions. Legg is associate professor and chair of the department. He also is associate editor for the Americas for Radiography. Dempsey is the radiation therapy program director for the School of Allied Health Professions.
