Description: 30 minutes to a better LP. The specialty most likely to perform LPs is now radiology. This is an essential skill to master for all radiology residents. However, many important maneuvers to manage challenging cases and potential pitfalls are not widely known.  

Learning Objectives:

-Learn how to coach and calm a patient before and during the procedure

-Learn how to optimize key fluoroscopic angles including the AP laminar window, oblique AP laminar window, and true lateral view

-Name 3 common causes of suboptimal CSF return and how to address them

-Determine which level(s) are most amenable to access

-Describe the basic principles of opening pressure determination

-Recognize basic needlecraft principles

Description: The intended audience are CT novices.  However, the fundamentals discussed here are often de-emphasized in formal curricula and may assist those with prior experience as well.  Basic CT interpretation principles in context of essential, clinically relevant physics are introduced in an image-rich format, focusing on head CT interpretation.

Learning Objectives:

-Recognize the numerous components of optimal CT interpretation

-Understand how to optimize window width and level settings

-Learn how to select the most appropriate CT series

-Explain the basic underlying physics concepts

- Describe the trade-offs when selecting a CT kernel

-Describe the trade-offs when changing voxel size in the context of related parameters (FOV, matrix, slice thickness)