This is part of the editorial on a human SM information site -- I hadn;t heard about either of these dveelopments:
From http://www.conquerchiari.org/subs%20only/Volume%203/Issue%203(10)/Editorial%203(10).asp
Sounds promising!
A research group from Princeton recently announced a breakthrough which may lead to cheap, hand-held MRI's. Imagine how much more quickly Chiari would be diagnosed if front-line physicians could quickly, cheaply, and easily scan the brain and spine. Also recently, there has been a renewed focus on a specific type of x-ray, known as phase contrast x-ray, which is incredibly accurate (more so than MRI's) at imaging soft tissue, and is cheap as well.
From http://www.conquerchiari.org/subs%20only/Volume%203/Issue%203(10)/Editorial%203(10).asp
Sounds promising!