Scholars@Duke
Robert James French

Robert James French

Assistant Professor of Radiology
Radiology, Musculoskeletal Imaging

Selected Publications

Gender equality in radiology: 3 steps worth taking.

Journal Article Curr Probl Diagn Radiol · 2025 Despite many advancements in gender equality in multiple professions, radiology continues to struggle with disparities in representation. This paper proposes a threestep approach to further address the gender equality issue within radiology, focusing on ea ... Full text Link to item Cite

Preoperative Planning for Shoulder Arthroplasty is Feasible with Computed Tomography at Lower-Than-Conventional Radiation Doses.

Journal Article J Shoulder Elbow Surg · October 21, 2024 INTRODUCTION: Computed tomography (CT) offers a detailed assessment of the shoulder for preoperative shoulder arthroplasty planning; however, this technique exposes the patient to ionizing radiation. The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate ... Full text Link to item Cite

Large Language Model Use in Radiology Residency Applications: Unwelcomed but Inevitable.

Journal Article J Am Coll Radiol · September 17, 2024 OBJECTIVE: This study explores radiology program directors' perspectives on the impact of large language model (LLM) use among residency applicants to craft personal statements. METHODS: Eight program directors from the Radiology Residency Education Resear ... Full text Link to item Cite

Near-Peer Paradigms in Medical School: Integrating Student Teaching Assistants Into a Core Radiology Clerkship.

Journal Article Acad Radiol · August 2024 RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Near-peer paradigms have been demonstrated effective in supporting how students navigate novel clinical environments. In this study, we describe an innovative model of incorporating teaching assistants (TAs) into a core radiology ... Full text Link to item Cite

Comparison of Low-Dose Computed Tomography Versus Conventional-Dose Computed Tomography in the Evaluation of Distal Radius Fractures.

Journal Article Hand (N Y) · March 7, 2024 BACKGROUND: Distal radius fractures (DRFs) are common upper extremity fractures and often require surgical fixation when they are intraarticular. Preoperative computed tomography (CT) has emerged as a surgical planning tool to evaluate intraarticular DRFs. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Medical student perspectives on radiology subspecialties prior to core clerkship.

Journal Article Curr Probl Diagn Radiol · 2024 RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Radiology remains underrepresented in U.S. medical school clinical curricula, and preconceived opinions about the field may impact whether students pursue elective exposure. A core radiology clerkship at one academic institution p ... Full text Link to item Cite

Novel radiology PRIMER course enhances medical student perception of radiology and key concept comprehension.

Journal Article Curr Probl Diagn Radiol · 2024 RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: A novel three-day radiology course, PRIMER, directly preceding medical students' clinical year, was created and assessed. The required course consisted of large group lecture sessions, small group breakout sessions, and individual ... Full text Link to item Cite

Giant cell tumor of bone in the pediatric population: a retrospective study highlighting cases of metaphyseal only location and increased local recurrence rates in skeletally immature patients.

Journal Article Skeletal Radiol · December 2023 OBJECTIVE: To describe the presentation of giant cell tumors (GCT) of the bone in the pediatric population to (1) improve the differential diagnosis of pediatric bone tumors and (2) identify the origin of GCT. Understanding the origin of bone tumors assist ... Full text Link to item Cite

Return to the Reading Room: Implementation of a Hybrid Radiology Clerkship Model after Emergent Conversion to Remote Learning in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Journal Article Acad Radiol · August 2023 RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the virtualization of historically in-person radiology rotations for medical students. As students return to in-person clinical education, there is an opportunity to reevaluate teaching strategies an ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association and Trends in Medicare Denials and Utilization for Brain CT: Indirect Impacts by Targeted Policy Intervention?

Journal Article Curr Probl Diagn Radiol · 2023 Twenty-five years of annual Medicare Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary (PSPS) Master File data were used to assess trends in normalized volume and claim denial rates for brain computerized tomography. Alongside growth in utilization of brain computerize ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

The Use of Structured Oral Exams for the Assessment of Medical Students in their Radiology Clerkship.

Journal Article Curr Probl Diagn Radiol · 2023 RATIONALE & OBJECTIVES: There is increasing interest in narrative feedback and competency-based evaluation in medical student education. This study evaluates the implementation of a structured oral exam for a required radiology clerkship in furtherance of ... Full text Link to item Cite

Financial Impact of Imaging Examination Site of Service in the Medicare Population.

Journal Article Curr Probl Diagn Radiol · 2023 PURPOSE: The financial sustainability of the US healthcare system is a growing concern in an environment of declining reimbursement and rising costs. Variable Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) reimbursement and denial rates for specific imaging exami ... Full text Link to item Cite

SuperMask: Generating High-resolution object masks from multi-view, unaligned low-resolution MRIs

Conference Proceedings of Machine Learning Research · January 1, 2023 Three-dimensional segmentation in magnetic resonance images (MRI), which reflects the true shape of the objects, is challenging since high-resolution isotropic MRIs are rare and typical MRIs are anisotropic, with the out-of-plane dimension having a much lo ... Cite

Prospective Multireader Evaluation of Photon-counting CT for Multiple Myeloma Screening.

Journal Article Radiol Imaging Cancer · November 2022 Purpose To determine whether photon-counting CT (PCCT) acquisition of whole-body CT images provides similar quantitative image quality and reader satisfaction for multiple myeloma screening at lower radiation doses than does standard energy-integrating det ... Full text Link to item Cite

Comparison of Simulated Low-Dose and Conventional-Dose CT for Preoperative Planning in Shoulder Arthroplasty.

Journal Article J Bone Joint Surg Am · June 1, 2022 BACKGROUND: Shoulder computed tomography (CT) is commonly utilized in preoperative planning for total shoulder arthroplasty. Conventional-dose shoulder CT may expose patients to more ionizing radiation than is necessary to provide high-quality images for t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Staging and Surveillance of Myxoid Liposarcoma: Follow-up Assessment and the Metastatic Pattern of 169 Patients Suggests Inadequacy of Current Practice Standards.

Journal Article Ann Surg Oncol · November 2021 BACKGROUND: Unlike other sarcoma subtypes, myxoid liposarcoma (MLS) has a propensity for extra-pulmonary metastases. Computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis has become an accepted practice for surveillance. However, recent literatur ... Full text Link to item Cite

Imaging of Patellofemoral Instability.

Journal Article Clin Sports Med · October 2021 Patellar instability is a broad term that encompasses patellar dislocation, patellar subluxation, and patellar instability. Although both functional and anatomic considerations contribute to symptoms of patellar instability, the most important are thought ... Full text Link to item Cite

Humeral intramedullary nail placement through the rotator interval: an anatomic and radiographic analysis.

Journal Article J Shoulder Elbow Surg · April 2021 BACKGROUND: Antegrade humeral intramedullary nails are an effective fixation method for certain proximal humeral fractures and humeral shaft fractures. However, owing to potential rotator cuff damage during nail insertion, shoulder pain remains a common po ... Full text Link to item Cite

Changes in Current Procedural Terminology Coding and Its Effect on Specialty-Level Utilization of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound.

Journal Article Curr Probl Diagn Radiol · 2021 PURPOSE: Concerns regarding increasing utilization of non-vascular extremity ultrasound (US) imaging led to the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Editorial Panel separating a singular billing code into distinct comprehensive and focused examination code ... Full text Link to item Cite

Upper extremity exertional rhabdomyolysis: MR imaging findings in four cases.

Journal Article Radiol Case Rep · June 2020 While uncommon, exertional-induced rhabdomyolysis is an important diagnostic consideration when encountering hyperintensity within one or more muscles on fluid sensitive sequences in conjunction with signal abnormality in the overlying superficial fascia a ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

NCCN Guidelines as a Model of Extended Criteria for Lung Cancer Screening.

Journal Article J Natl Compr Canc Netw · April 2018 Background: This review assessed the performance of patients in NCCN high-risk group 2 in a clinical CT lung screening (CTLS) program. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed screening results for all patients from our institution undergoing clinical CTLS fro ... Full text Link to item Cite

Adherence to Radiology Recommendations in a Clinical CT Lung Screening Program.

Journal Article J Am Coll Radiol · February 2018 BACKGROUND: Assess patient adherence to radiologist recommendations in a clinical CT lung cancer screening program. METHODS: Patients undergoing CT lung cancer screening between January 12, 2012, and June 12, 2013, were included in this institutional revie ... Full text Link to item Cite

Experience With a CT Screening Program for Individuals at High Risk for Developing Lung Cancer.

Journal Article J Am Coll Radiol · February 2016 PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare results of National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) high-risk group 2 with those of NCCN high-risk group 1 in a clinical CT lung screening program. METHODS: The results of consecutive clinical CT lung scree ... Full text Link to item Cite

Experience with a CT screening program for individuals at high risk for developing lung cancer.

Journal Article J Am Coll Radiol · February 2015 PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare results of National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) high-risk group 2 with those of NCCN high-risk group 1 in a clinical CT lung screening program. METHODS: The results of consecutive clinical CT lung scree ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Neuroimaging Spectrum of Septum Posticum Derangement and Associated Thoracic Myelopathy.

Journal Article J Neuroimaging · 2015 BACKGROUND: Arachnoid cysts and meningeal membranes are among the differential diagnostic considerations of extra-medullary causes of thoracic myelopathy. In this case series of 7 patients, we present compressive meningeal membranes mimicking dorsal arachn ... Full text Link to item Cite

T2 hyperintensity of medial lemniscus: higher threshold application to ROI measurements is more accurate in predicting small vessel disease.

Journal Article J Neuroimaging · July 2013 BACKGROUND: Medial lemniscus T2 hyperintensity (MLH) has been recently demonstrated as potential imaging marker for small vessel disease (SVD). Our purpose in this study is to improve accuracy of regions of interest (ROI) analysis for this imaging finding. ... Full text Link to item Cite

T2 hyperintensity of medial lemniscus is an indicator of small-vessel disease.

Journal Article AJR Am J Roentgenol · July 2012 OBJECTIVE: Small-vessel disease is a common MRI finding that can be difficult to differentiate from other white matter (WM) diseases because of the lack of a specific pattern of brain involvement. The purpose of our study was to evaluate medial lemniscus h ... Full text Link to item Cite