Category: Radiology

Going to the molecular level to think big about cancer

In the next few years, the biggest advancements in cancer care may occur at the smallest level, the level of individual molecules. By imaging individual molecules on cancer cells, malignancies can be detected when they are smaller and more easily treat…

When your institution has a less than 1% hiring rate for Black residents [PODCAST]

“As soon as I realized we had so few Black residents, I began to ask around to find out if there were reasons why. One person brought up the fact that we happen to be the smaller institution between 3 other larger universities within an hour away…

Think you have an iodine allergy? You may want to reconsider. [PODCAST]

“Iodine-based contrast agents are widely used for CT and other X-ray studies. They light up blood vessels and enhance perfusing tissue. These agents are essential for diagnosing everything from clots, to tumor, to bleeding. Unfortunately, many pa…

When your institution has a less than 1% hiring rate for Black residents

The other day I was in the main hallway outside of our radiology reading rooms, which is lined with picture frames of all the residency senior classes dating back to the 1980s. I’m new to the institution, so it was nice to see all the prior residents. …

Patients alone cannot combat high health care prices

After three months of physical therapy, her doctor told her that it was time to get an MRI. She had already paid off her annual deductible, meaning the imaging test would “only” cost her the $150 co-pay. An imaging center near where she worked charged …

In the COVID-19 era, point of care ultrasound has proven invaluable

Amidst the crushing human and economic carnage inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, one innocent bystander has been cowering in the dark corner of medicine’s past, clinging to its final breaths of iconicity: the beloved stethoscope. For over two centuri…

Why we must keep learning from the coronavirus pandemic

Looking back on the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, I hope that we are able to take away several lessons. Immediately after the virus showed up in the United States, many physicians without access to virus testing seemed to go straight to imagi…

If you’re falling apart, should you still perform the pancreas biopsy?

Many radiologists choose the specialty because they don’t like interacting with sick people. As a highly sensitive person, I went into radiology to distance myself from patient suffering, as a means of self-protection. Radiology has allowed me to compa…

A critical moment that resulted in a permanent, devastating consequence

An excerpt from Looking Within: Understanding Ourselves through Human Imaging. It started as a routine weekend shift, reading studies on patients in the hospital and the emergency department, when the phone rang. Jessie, the nuclear medicine technologi…

Resident adds Rorschach reads to radiology reports

In the dark radiology reading rooms, only the gentle hum of the computers and the quiet chatter of residents dictating radiology reads break the silence. Among the computers sits Dr. Exner, a senior radiology resident at Hospital Woeisme. He has recent…