The Nuclear Medicine division provides residents with an active, clinically oriented teaching environment, preparing them for an active practice in nuclear radiology and encouraging involvement in clinical research.
Schedule
8 AM - 5 PM
R1-R4 rotate for an average of 4 weeks/year
From obtaining patient histories and making decisions in triaging patients, to perfecting technical skills and ensuring that the best images are performed, radiology residents participate in all aspects of GW's Nuclear medicine clinic. The rotation involves training in all aspects of general Nuclear Medicine: most common studies are PET-CT (FDG and DOTA), bone scans, thyroid scans, HIDA, MAG-3, lymphoscintigraphy, and gastric emptying studies. Residents gain hands-on training in therapeutic procedures such as radionuclide therapy including I-131 for hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer and Ra-223 for metastatic prostate cancer in addition to Y-90 treatment of metastatic liver lesions.
The Nuclear Cardiology section of the division involves joint interpretation of myocardial perfusion, viability and ATTR amyloid imaging with the Division of Cardiology staff, enabling the residents to gain experience in all aspects of nuclear cardiac imaging. Images from both in hospital studies as well as outpatient clinical studies are interpreted in daily joint radiology/cardiology reading sessions resulting a busy nuclear cardiology service making for an ideal training program and trains both radiology residents and cardiology fellows.
Technology
SPECT-CT studies including DOTA-TATE imaging for neuroendocrine tumors, I123-MIBG imaging for pheochromacytoma, and CNS imaging including shunt patency and CSF leak studies and cerebral perfusion imaging are among the many procedures performed at the division. The division has a busy PET-CT clinic where studies are interpreted simultaneously with CT at the same reading session by faculty each certified both by the ABR and ABNM.
Our state-of-the-art equipment includes three dual head cameras, two with SPECT capability, and one state of the art integrated SPECT-CT, a single head anger camera and a state of the art GE PET-CT camera (Discovery LS). A separate dual head camera with SPECT capability is present at or outpatient building.
The Division of Nuclear Medicine is a key participant of semi-weekly tumor board conferences held by the division of Oncology.
In addition to an active and dynamic clinical training experience, the residents attend biweekly didactic and case conferences and are encouraged to participate in regional and national meetings by getting involved in the many available clinical research opportunities.