Cardiopulmonary Imaging

About the Division

We are a section of subspecialty Cardiac and thoracic imagers with expertise in imaging for complex thoracic diseases including Interstitial lung disease, cystic lung diseases, lung cancer and occupational lung diseases. The faculty are expert cardiac imagers and provide support to the Cardiology and Cardiothoracic surgery programs in diagnosis and management of various complex cardiac and vascular disorders using Cardiac CT and MRI. We participate in the structural heart program and planning of complex interventional and minimally invasive surgical approaches by providing state of the art cardiac and vascular imaging.

The faculty are an integral part of our robust lung cancer screening program and participate in UC’s Lung Cancer Research Study Group. We support several multi-disciplinary programs at weekly meetings including the Structural heart program, Thoracic Tumor Board, Multi-disciplinary Interstitial Lung Disease conference, Sarcoid conference and Connective tissue disease related ILD conference.

Interstitial Lung Disease Program

In our institution Chest CTs are read by Chest sub-specialty focused faculty who are specially trained in reading interstitial lung disease HRCT. They are also experts in imaging of cystic lung disease and other rare lung diseases such as CT and MR imaging for lymphangiomatosis. The section faculty provide support for interventional pulmonary procedures including Y stent placement, endobronchial vale placement and other interventions.

Lung Cancer Screening Program

The division faculty participate in a multidisciplinary lung cancer screening program with the team consisting of experts in every area of lung cancer and is the only team of its kind in the region. Our Lung Cancer Screening program was the first screening program in the Greater Cincinnati area and is recognized by the Lung cancer alliance as a Lung Cancer screening center if excellence. We are an ACR accredited site for lung cancer screening and participate in ACR registry.

More information can be found on the UC Health Website

B-Reader Services

Dr. Meyer is a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health certified B-reader providing CXR interpretation for individuals suspected of occupational lung disease (coal dust, silica, or asbestos exposure). Only approximately 300 physicians currently hold this certification that is mandatory for readers who classify radiographs for federal surveillance to include NIOSH Coal-Worker’s X-ray Surveillance program and other industry-sponsored medical surveillance programs. If you require B-reader services from a NIOSH certified B-reader please contact: Jackie Blackburn Department of Radiology UCMC, Email: Blackbju@ucmail.uc.edu

Cardiac Imaging

The collaborative Cardiac Imaging Team relies on the expertise of two academic departments - Cardiology and Radiology. The strong collaboration between UC cardiologists and radiologists is unlike any other in the area. We work closely with our colleagues from cardiology and Cardiothoracic surgery. The program is dedicated to state-of-the-art noninvasive imaging of the heart. Imaging modalities include cardiac computed tomography (CT) and cardiac

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CT and MRI of the heart provide exquisite images of the heart in any desired orientation. Both modalities can provide information on structural and functional abnormalities of the heart. Cardiac CT provides excellent spatial resolution resulting in detailed evaluation of coronary arteries including evaluation of course and caliber, while Cardiac MRI excels at tissue characterization and functional evaluation.

A 3D post-processing lab, consisting of technologists and post-processing workstations, provides cutting edge reconstruction capability, and is an integral part of the cardiac imaging program. Our robust 3D printing program with expert faculty supports by providing 3D printed models to facilitate complex cardiac procedures and intervention. Physicians in the College of Medicine and UC Health handle complex cases with more advanced methods and accuracy by utilizing 3D printing technology. 3D models are also important tools for education for patients and physicians alike and are beneficial in reducing surgical procedure times.