Cardiothoracic Imaging led by Dr. Alison Wilcox

The section of Cardiothoracic Imaging is a cohesive group incorporating both thoracic imaging with cardiac imaging. We have developed strong interdepartmental relationships with pulmonary medicine, cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery in order to provide comprehensive care for our patients. We work in a stimulating environment with the goals of developing both new areas of research and implementation of new clinical services.
We provide a number of clinical services at multiple sites on the HSC campus; we provide excellent quality imaging services catering to a wide variety of clinical needs. These include:

– Chest radiographs in adults
– Chest CT and high-resolution lung CT in adults
– Cardiac CT and coronary CT
– Cardiac MRI in adults, with an emphasis in congenital diseases
– Thoracic MR angiography in adults
– Thoracic interventions, including biopsies, ablations, pleural and pericardial drainages

The section of Cardiothoracic Imaging has the following clinical, research and training objectives:

1. Optimize the quality of our clinical care in Cardiothoracic Imaging and incorporate new advanced techniques in our practice.

   We are exceptionally proud of our high quality of patient care, which relies primarily on advanced imaging techniques such as Cardiac CTA, Cardiac MRI, Functional MRI and Dynamic CT of the chest. We have strong working relationships with the medical and surgical departments in our various sites but primarily we deal directly with the cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, vascular surgeons and pulmonary/critical care physicians. We routinely observe and tailor studies to suit the needs of individual patients and clinicians. This requires close working relationships with technical and radiologic staff as well as support staff. We participate in multiple interdisciplinary conferences to help provide a high level of patient care, resident and fellow education and assistance to our referring physicians.

2. Maintain and improve an outstanding residency training program that includes advanced cardiothoracic imaging as a core component of training.

   We are responsible for the training of residents in chest radiology. By providing exposure and instruction to all aspects of thoracic radiology, we assist in the training of future leaders in the field. We have weekly and daily conferences that residents and fellows are required to attend. In addition, during their senior year, the residents spend up to six weeks on a rotation entirely devoted to cardiac imaging, vascular imaging, and chest CT.

   A detailed list of our conferences is available separately.

3. Encourage and mandate staff, fellows and residents participation in clinical research and other scholarly activities.

   We have monthly staff meetings to promote the research participation of our staff. This enables all of us to be aware of the clinical and research activities of each of us and assist more effectively.

4. Maintain and improve an extensive teaching file and create a digitized teaching file in cardiothoracic imaging. Useful references, information and data are also available at www.trojanimaging.com