Cardiothoracic Imaging

Cardiothoracic Imaging

The Cardiothoracic Imaging Section is staffed by nine radiologists certified by the American Board of Radiology (ABR). The section interprets all adult cardiothoracic radiography, cardiac CT, and thoracic CT and MR imaging at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, as well as multiple outpatient facilities. The section works in close coordination with very active cardiac surgery, vascular surgery, thoracic surgery, interventional cardiology, radiation oncology, medical oncology and pulmonology services. State-of-the-art technology allows our section to perform full 3-D and 4-D cardiac and coronary artery imaging.

Vanderbilt University was one of the participating sites in the National Lung Screening Trial, and we have developed a growing and very active American College of Radiology-certified Lung Screening Program. The screening program is a joint effort of the Department of Radiology, the Vanderbilt Pulmonary Nodule clinic and the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. We have enrolled more than 700 patients and performed more than 1,000 CT screening examinations since 2013.

Section members participate in funded research activities, including ongoing projects involving detection of early fibrosis in family members of IPF patients, detection of genetic fibrotic lung disease, investigation of biomarkers for early lung cancer detection, multifactorial analysis of screen-detected lung adenocarcinoma, coronary artery risk development in young adults and perceptual abilities in medical imaging.
 
Members of the section also are active at the national level in committees and offices including the Society of Thoracic Radiology, the Radiologic Society of North America, the Roentgen Ray Society, and the ABR where three have served as board examiners.
 
We are active in teaching our residents in diagnostic radiology, as well as medical students in several different courses. Members of the section have been named "Teacher of the Year" by the Vanderbilt Radiology Residents a total of seven times.

For information about our cardiothoracic fellowship, click here.