Dr. Mirvis is the Editor-in-Chief of this journal and Professor of Radiology, Diagnostic Imaging Department, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD.

With the current issue, Applied Radiology celebrates its 30th Anniversary. Thirty years is an instant in cosmic time but encompasses a rather long period in the rapid evolution of modern diagnostic and therapeutic radiology. The original mission of AR , as described in the first issue by consulting editor A. Everette James Jr, ScM, MD, was to offer a forum for practical articles summarizing the "state-of-the-art" in particular fields, to discuss controversial issues, and to communicate innovations in the field. Subsequent editors-in-chief (including Juan M. Taveras, MD and Theodore E. Keats, MD) have honored that original mission while adding some new goals along the way. A review of the original editorial board of 26 members shows the persistence of Dr. William R. Hendee, a currently active editorial board member, and Dr. James E. Youker, who only recently relinquished his position on the board. The original journal had a substantial representation of radiology technologists, but they have moved on to develop their own journals as their specialties have grown more diversified and complex.

Naturally, it is interesting to see what was happening 30 years ago in our field. An article on automated radiologic diagnosis, an early precursor of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD), described use of a computer to evaluate cardiac size and shape from a radiograph. The system actually bested a panel of 10 radiologists for diagnostic accuracy. While that particular application was doomed by the advent of newer modalities, the concept of CAD was being solidified. Another article is a review on the potential for angiographic-radionuclide correlation in medicine written by a very youthful-looking assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Hospital named Robert I. White, Jr. This article presages, of course, the future development of image fusion.

One of the most intriguing parts of the original issue was the section entitled "Equipment Spectrum" in which the newest technologies were described. Among the many interesting items were the new Potts Cournand (thin-wall) needle (Becton-Dickinson, Rutherford, NJ) for carotid angiography, the Combison system (Rohe Scientific Corp., Santa Ana, CA) that included simultaneous display on two oscilloscopes of A-mode and B-mode ultrasound images, the introduction of sodium diatrizoate intravenous contrast, and a new medical thermograph unit.

Of all the things I read in the first issue that exemplify the changes our field has undergone, there was one that spoke volumes about consistency. The first sentence of Dr. James' editorial states " Applied Radiology represents a new venture in a field that is undergoing great changes." That is something the current and future generation of radiologists will certainly share with our predecessors. The first issue of Applied Radiology is a time capsule, and from it we learn about the past, and perhaps can extract lessons to better prepare for our future. Along with the first issue, this current anniversary issue will perhaps be an historical guidepost for the imaging specialists (whatever that term may come to mean) of 2032. I hope that in reading it, they will have something both to smile about and learn from.