Issue StoriesThe Best of the Bestby Andi Lucas Our readers voted, and the results are in from the first-annual Medical Imaging Industry Top 10. When it comes to the field of radiology and all of its subfields—including cardiology, radiation oncology, women's imaging, nuclear medicine, and more---who is the best of the best?
When we set out to compile the Medical Imaging Industry Top 10—a ranking of the industry's 10 best in 10 categories—we wanted to find and acknowledge the best and the brightest in the field of radiology. Our purpose is multifaceted. First, we want the industry's best to be recognized by their peers. Second, we want our readership to learn more about these top performers, to inspire accomplishments, research, and goals of their own. Third, we want to give our readers a chance to voice their opinions. In terms of the latter, our readers did just that. We emailed about 16,000 of our readers, and received a phenomenal return—9.35%! Voting was available online during the months of October and November 2005. We created a preliminary ballot using suggestions from key hospitals, the vendor community, and our Editorial Advisory Board. The ballot also contained several blank spaces in each category for voters to write in their own choices. Readers were asked to cast their vote based on a number of factors, including research, innovation, industry interaction, patient care and outcomes, attitude, unique solutions, and general knowledge. The categories are:
Congratulations to everyone included in the first-annual MI Industry Top 10! Your success is our success—keep up the good work. Now, on to the winners. ...
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Most of us remember Mary Lou Retton, who gained international notoriety by winning the All Around Gold Medal in women's gymnastics at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles—the first American woman to ever win gold in gymnastics. She also won silver medals for Team and Vault, and bronze medals for Uneven Bars and Floor Exercise. Her five medals were the most won by any athlete at the 1984 Olympics, and she was the first American ever to win the Olympic All Around Title. Retton was at the top of her game and was clearly the best athlete in the 1984 games. About being the best, Retton says, "As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can—by making the best choices and by making the most of the talents we've been given."
"We feel honored to receive such support [from your readers], particularly since we are a pediatric radiology department competing with general radiology departments," says Lane Donnelly, MD, radiologist-in-chief and director of the department of radiology at CCHMC. "We also feel very fortunate to have the resources, history, and culture that allows the department to be a leader in improving child health through medical imaging." One of the busiest pediatric radiology departments in the country, the division employs more than 200 full-time staff, 30 clinical faculty, and eight PhD researchers, all to perform 180,000-plus exams per year. For 56 years, the department has trained about one third of the graduating pediatric radiology fellows nationally each year. For the future, Donnelly says, "Right now, one of the most exciting things coming out of our department is related to our radiology informatics research core. Our new system of patient triage, communication, paperless workflow, and documentation is unlike anything, to my knowledge, that any [other facility] has, and it's only the beginning. We are adding radiology feedback systems for lifelong learning and multiple other features."
This year, more than 74,000 patients with cancer will receive care at MD Anderson, and about 27,000 of them will be new patients. In 2005 at MD Anderson, more than 11,000 patients participated in therapeutic clinical research exploring novel treatments—the largest such program in the United States. The Division of Diagnostic Imaging at MD Anderson has more than a dozen technologies available for radiologists to visualize tumors in both bone and soft tissue, including MRI, CT, mammography, nuclear medicine, PET, ultrasound, vascular, and interventional. Research and development has always been a priority at the facility, which designed and tested the first cobalt-60 radiation unit in the country, making radiation treatments more effective and affordable. And in the 1960s, when the National Cancer Institute needed an institution to spearhead the creation of uniform radiation dosimetry standards, it turned to MD Anderson. Recently, MD Anderson and a group of partners formed a venture to develop, own, and operate the Proton Therapy Center, a freestanding radiation therapy facility for the treatment of cancer using proton beam therapy.
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| Photo courtesy of Andrea Kaldrovics |
The Department of Radiology at HUP is a highly specialized, full-service department that strives to meet both patient and clinician needs in diagnostic imaging and image-guided therapies. Comprised of 70 physicians, the clinical faculty performs 300,000-plus diagnostic studies and therapeutic procedures each year. For more than a decade, the department has been among the leading US medical-school radiology departments in research funding sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. With that funding specifically, the department has major programs in oncology, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases as well as the development of new and improved imaging technologies.
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Freestanding Imaging Center or Group
1) Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI of Minneapolis)
www.cdiradiology.com • 22.33% of the top 10 votes
CDI's mission is: "To be the premier, nationally recognized provider of outpatient imaging and diagnostic and therapeutic injections." And according to CDI CEO Robert V. Baumgartner, "This recognition is nice for our physicians and associates because it validates our mission. It has never been our goal to be the largest outpatient imaging company, but to be one of the top-quality providers. We believe that if you focus on quality and service, the financial rewards will follow." Currently, CDI owns and operates 33 diagnostic imaging centers in eight states. The company partners with hospitals and health systems to offers physician-led, outpatient radiology services; the expertise of specialized radiologists focused on neurological, spine, musculoskeletal, body, and cardiovascular imaging; and advanced diagnostics injections and pain-management procedures. "By having top subspecialized radiologists as owner partners, we stay focused on clinical quality; and CDI provides the management, business, and systems infrastructure to help the radiologists grow their practices."
2) St Mary's North Imaging, Women's, and Cancer Center (Powell, Tenn)
www.ehealthconnection.com/regions/tennessee/content/show_facility.asp?facility_id=147 • 15.37% of the top 10 votes
"We are extremely honored to be recognized in this way," says Jerry W. Askew, PhD, senior VP of marketing and philanthropy at St Mary's North. "Obviously, any recognition for the hard work and professionalism of our staff is appreciated, but to be singled out by such an informed public as the readership of Medical Imaging is particularly meaningful." St Mary's North opened its 50,000-square-foot ambulatory facility to include Imaging, Women's, and Cancer Centers in October 2004. The women's center includes digital mammography, CAD, bone densitometry, ultrasound, and stereotactic biopsy. The imaging center provides MRI, CT, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, and fluoroscopy. The cancer center offers a complete cancer support program as well as image-guided radiation therapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy, HDR Brachytherapy, and more. "We try never to forget that our patients have many healthcare options in our highly competitive market, and they take a leap of faith when choosing us over one of our competitors," Askew says of St Mary's North, which serves the rapidly growing population north of Knoxville in east Tennessee. "We reciprocate by providing them with staff trained in the latest techniques, using the best possible equipment, and all in a patient-friendly environment characterized by dignity, compassion, and respect." In fact, as part of a mammogram encounter, each patient enjoys warmed robes and a private clinical and educational consultation with a breast health specialist.
3) Elizabeth Wende Breast Clinic (EWBC of Rochester, NY)
www.ewbc.com • 10.19% of the top 10 votes
Founded in 1976 by Wende Logan-Young, MD, the EWBC was the first freestanding breast center dedicated solely to breast-cancer detection in the United States that is not connected to, affiliated with, or supported by a university or medical center. Now in a 30,000-square-foot facility, the EWBC's philosophy hasn't changed: to diagnose breast cancer as accurately and efficiently as possible while contributing to the patients' comfort and well-being. The clinic contains 10 film-screen mammography units, four digital mammography units, eight ultrasound units, two dedicated core biopsy tables, and one bone densitometry unit; and 6 days each month, it has a mobile MRI unit. Six physicians—Logan-Young; Stamatia Destounis, MD; Philip Murphy, MD; Posy Seifer, DO; Patricia Somerville, MD; and Margarita Zuley, MD—serve about 350 patients per day, which led to 75,000 patients in 2004. And it is the EWBC's policy that all exams are independently read by two physicians using CAD. "We are delighted and honored that the readers of Medical Imaging have selected the EWBC as one of the top freestanding imaging centers," says Theresa Wade, the facility's business manager. "But being designated a center of excellence isn't something that just happens. From top management down, it requires ongoing planning, teamwork, and dedication to our mission to have it work properly."
4) Radiological Associates of Sacramento (RAS of Sacramento, Calif)
www.radiological.com • 8.74% of the top 10 votes
RAS is the largest physician-owned private radiology practice in Northern California and has been serving the greater Sacramento area since 1917 with such services as diagnostic and interventional radiology, PET, nuclear medicine, and radiation oncology. Locally owned and operating 15 diagnostic sites and seven radiation oncology centers, RAS also provides professional services to five area hospitals. Staff includes 74 radiologists, 54 of whom are owners, as well as more than 800 technical, clerical, and administrative personnel. "I have always said that it is not our facilities nor our equipment that make RAS great," says RAS Executive VP Fred Gaschen. "It's the people! To be selected as one of the top freestanding imaging centers is a vindication of the hard work and dedication to the company provided by the 850 people who make up the RAS family." Some of RAS' tactics for getting noticed above the competition is service; proper training of staff; planning ahead; and considering the patient's viewpoint, the latter of which involved consolidating, relocating, and upgrading its facilities several years ago, investing a considerable amount into facility amenities. "Our goal—to lower the apprehension level of our patients—has been successful and well worth the additional capital outlay," Gaschen says. "And our patients let us know that they appreciate both the staff and the facilities, so we must be doing something right." Shown here is the new Capitol Imaging site in Sacramento, which opened in January 2005 and offers a breast-imaging center, diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine, and an outpatient interventional radiology clinic.
5) ProScan Imaging (Cincinnati)
www.proscan.com • 8.41% of the top 10 votes
Operating more than 20 imaging centers throughout the United States, ProScan's radiologists read one of the largest MRI-based multi-modality radiology case volumes in the world using proprietary advanced scanning and teleradiology technologies as well as streamlined workflow applications. "Our business philosophy hinges on the idea that education for our customers and our own staff is integral to everything we do," says Stephen J. Pomeranz, MD, CEO, and medical director of ProScan. "To be competitive, you need to add value for the customer; just producing images of excellent quality is not enough. We approach our customers as partners, and we teach them all we can about imaging. This sharing of knowledge both enhances their practices and establishes our position as their most valuable radiology resource." ProScan—which offers year-long and visiting fellowship opportunities; CME courses; and educational books, CDs, DVDs, and videos—has provided instruction to more than 16,000 physicians worldwide.
6) Seattle Radiologists APC
www.searad.com • 8.09% of the top 10 votes
With two outpatient diagnostic imaging centers, Seattle Radiologists is composed of more than 22 board-certified, subspecialty, fellowship-trained specialists. "Our dedication to service and patient care are what physicians and patients have come to expect from us for more than 45 years," says Practice Administrator Sandra Benson. "We use the most advanced imaging equipment in state-of-the-art facilities along with our dedicated radiologists and staff who are committed to offering the highest-quality compassionate care for our patients." Today, the company owns four MRI scanners, including the first 3T MRI system in the Pacific Northwest, two 1.5T scanners, and one .35T scanner; a PET/CT scanner; a 64-slice CT scanner used, among other things, for coronary CT angiography; and a C-arm fluoroscopy machine used to perform pain-management injections and musculoskeletal procedures. Also, the company has developed a national and international reputation in neuroimaging and is a "show site" for GE Healthcare. "Seattle Radiologists will continue to use the latest imaging technologies [and be] the first in the marketplace," Benson says. "We are dedicated to setting the standard of excellence in the radiology field."
7) Breast Imaging of Oklahoma (Edmond, Okla)
www.breastimagingofoklahoma.com • 7.12% of the top 10 votes
Breast Imaging of Oklahoma opened its doors in February 2003 and now has more than 30 employees—including four female breast-imaging radiologists—and two satellite offices that serve the Oklahoma City metro area. The facility offers digital screening and diagnostic mammography, breast ultrasound, breast MRI, breast MRI-guided biopsy, ultrasound- and stereotactic-guided biopsies, and ductography. "It is truly humbling to be recognized by our peers and the large readership of Medical Imaging magazine," says Kelly McDonough, MD, co-owner of Breast Imaging of Oklahoma. "What is most pleasing to us is that this recognition affirms our mission of effectively serving the needs of women in our community." She adds that the center focuses on personal care and attention. "In our business, there is so much emphasis on being high-tech," McDonough says. "We are as high-tech an anyone, but we place equal emphasis on being 'high touch' as well. The primary motive is not profit. We make a profit, but we feel that in our high-tech world, what sets us apart in the midst of that is caring for persons, not patients; names, not numbers. We try to build that understanding in all levels of our practice and our staff."
8) South Florida Medical Imaging (Boca Raton)
www.sfmipa.com • 6.96% of the top 10 votes
Despite being a small, specialty-imaging facility with fewer than 25 employees, SFMI is a leader in outpatient angiography and CT angiography (CTA), performing eight to 10 CTAs each day on patients from Florida and the southeast United States. Every year, SFMI performs 10,000–24,000 imaging procedures, more than 90% of which are digital, as the facility is 90% filmless. With its RIS/PACS solution, SFMI is able to enable access to digital images to staff and referring physicians as well as link to five area hospitals. SFMI also serves as a training center for industry professionals interested in learning more about CTA using 16-slice CT technology.
9) Tucson Breast Center (Tucson, Ariz)
www.uph.org/loc_tbc.asp • 6.47% of the top 10 votes
In 1986, the Tucson Breast Center was started as an off-site imaging center from University Physicians Healthcare. In 2001, the facility embarked on the digital journey and has been 100% digital since 2003, owning two digital mammography units with CAD. The facility performs about 130 mammograms per day as well as offers breast ultrasounds and stereotactic- and ultrasound-guided interventional procedures; on-site breast MR will be available in the near future. Also in 2001, the Tucson Breast Center started reading mammograms from remote locations throughout the state as part of the Arizona Telemedicine Program. "Today, we service four different remote digital sites, and mammograms are read and reports are sent via a Web-based system within one hour," explains Per Granstrom, MD, medical director of the center. "Patient satisfaction has always been our highest priority. We have had great support from the administration and our vendors to reach our goals. In addition to the technologists and administrative personnel, we have dedicated patient-care assistants to ensure that every patient receives personal attention."
10) Radiologix Inc (Dallas)
www.radiologix.com • 6.31% of the top 10 votes
Founded in 1996, Radiologix owns and operates a network of 73 outpatient diagnostic imaging centers in eight states, offering such modalities as MRI, CT, PET, PET/CT, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, mammography, bone densitometry, fluoroscopy, and X-rays. "Our mission is to provide exceptional radiology services by empowering team members to exceed the expectation of patients, physicians, and referral sources," says Sami S. Abbasi, president and CEO of Radiologix. "It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by the readers of Medical Imaging, our peers. The 2,200 team members of Radiologix work very hard and take seriously their commitment to achieve our vision." On the horizon for Radiologix is the REWARD Program, which stands for Radiologix-Enhanced Workflow and Report Distribution. "It integrates our RIS/PACS capabilities for a better referring physician and patient experience," Abbasi explains, adding that it will be complete in the second half of 2006. "REWARD will enable us to enhance our service capabilities, improve workflows and information management, and reduce report-turnaround times."
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Radiologist
1) Barry Goldberg, MD
Professor of Radiology at the Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University; Director of the Division of Diagnostic Ultrasound at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and the Jefferson Ultrasound Research and Education Institute (Philadelphia)
Garnering almost one fifth of the top 10 votes (19.59%), Goldberg is a pioneer in the field of ultrasound. Created in 1993 under Goldberg's direction, the Jefferson Ultrasound Research and Education Institute is dedicated to advancing ultrasound research and education activities for physicians worldwide by performing basic and clinical research activities and offering education courses and programs throughout the year. "I have been most proud of my successes in mentoring radiologists at my institution as well as the teaching of physicians from around the world in my area of expertise—ultrasound—with emphasis on helping establish training centers in developing countries," Goldberg says, noting that this program has led to the establishment of 65 ultrasound-training centers affiliated with Jefferson's Ultrasound Institute. "Although I have conducted an extensive research effort in ultrasound over many years, my most recent and ongoing research has been the use of ultrasound contrast to image the lymphatic system. With this new approach, it will be possible to noninvasively detect sentinel lymph nodes." Goldberg's other accolades include being immediate past-president of the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology and being presented with the 1998 Outstanding Researcher Award from the Radiological Society of North America.
2) Vijay M. Rao, MD
Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiology at the Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University (TJU of Philadelphia)
"Over my academic career, I have strived to be a role model for professional women," says Rao, who is one of the few women physicians to direct a clinical department in a major urban teaching hospital. "I have successfully balanced career with personal life, being a wife and a mother of two. It is gratifying to know that my accomplishments encourage other professional women to strive for excellence." At TJU, Rao oversees neearly 400 staff, faculty, residents, and fellows with an annual budget of more than $100 million. President of the Association of Program Directors in Radiology, Rao also is a fellow of the American College of Radiology and serves as board examiner for the American Board of Radiology. Her areas of expertise include head and neck imaging, CT, and MRI; research interests include TMJ imaging, sino-nasal imaging, and dynamic MRI of head and neck tumors. "My career has been driven by a pursuit of excellence, a value instilled in me by my father," says Rao, who scored 13.2% of the top 10 votes. "This acknowledgement from my peers, the highest level of recognition one can receive, is most gratifying."
3) Elizabeth G. McFarland, MD
Body Radiologist at Diagnostic Imaging Associates LLC; National Virtual Colonoscopy Medical Director for the Center for Diagnostic Imaging; and Adjunct Professor at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (Chesterfield, Mo)
"In my career, I have been very committed to the validation and implementation of evolving 3-D applications in CT colonography and CT angiography," says McFarland, who garnered 11.97% of the top 10 votes. "During ten years in academics at Washington University, I helped conduct several NCI trials of CT colonography. I recently made the transition to enter the private sector, and I work with the Center for Diagnostic Imaging to conduct clinical trials in CT colonography to evaluate community implementation." McFarland is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego; she completed an internship at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a fellowship in general radiology and gastrointestinal interventional radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her professional affiliations are numerous; she continues administrative efforts with the American College of Radiology in establishing reimbursement for CT colonography; and she has been asked to join the task force with the American Cancer Society to help revise the guidelines for colorectal screening. Through it all, McFarland says she is most proud of her family, which includes two boys (ages 12 and 13) and a husband of 17 years. "To try to influence the actions and values of growing boys in today's culture is quite a process," she says. "The priority to balance family with career has always been very important to me."
4) Lane F. Donnelly, MD
Radiologist-in-Chief for the Department of Radiology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center; and Professor of Radiology and Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
"If you look at improving child health, there are two main components," Donnelly notes. "One is improving the diagnostic and therapeutic tools that we offer to our patients, and the second is improving the process by which we deliver these tools. At Cincinnati Children's, like many other institutions in the country, we have a strong history of clinical research that leads to improvement in diagnostic and therapeutic tools." Donnelly, who scored 10.88% of the top 10 votes, has been with Cincinnati Children's since September 1999; prior to that, he was both assistant and associate professor of radiology at Duke University Medical Center. Donnelly completed fellowships in pediatric radiology, MR imaging, and radiology journalism; his list of society memberships include the Society for Pediatric Radiology, the American College of Radiology, and the Radiological Society of North America, among many others. "I feel very fortunate to have had excellent mentors and worked in outstanding institutions," he says. "I am proud that I have been able to capitalize on these advantages and been a productive writer."
5) John M. Racadio, MD
Chief of Interventional Radiology and Associate Professor of Clinical Radiology and Pediatrics at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Originally from St Louis, Racadio—who collected 9.12% of the top 10 votes—is proud of his pediatric radiology work as well as the work of his associates. "I am most proud of developing strong, cooperative relationships with our surgical colleagues, which has allowed us to be able to offer our pediatric patients novel, minimally invasive approaches and solutions to a variety of illnesses," he says. A member of the American College of Radiology, American Roentgen Ray Society, and the Society for Pediatric Radiology, Racadio is eager to begin work in a recently upgraded interventional radiology suite that now features a flat-detector system. With the upgrade, Racadio anticipates collaborations with clinical scientists to develop new clinical applications for 3-D rotational angiography. He says, "I anticipate that these new technological advancements will have a huge impact on redefining the scope of what is possible in interventional radiology."
6) Eliot L. Siegel, MD
Professor and Vice Chair of Information Systems in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine; and Chief of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine for the VA Maryland Healthcare System (Baltimore)
Nabbing 7.62% of the top 10 votes, Siegel is deeply honored and pleased—"but I think that there are probably thousands of radiologists much more deserving than I am of the ranking." Among Siegel's many accomplishments, one of his most proud is helping to design, implement, and run the world's first enterprise-wide filmless radiology department at the Baltimore VA Medical Center. "We had the foresight to collect data before and after the transition to filmless operation so that we could conduct and publish many studies sharing the economic consequences and the impact on productivity, image interpretation, and many other fascinating and important topics," he says. "I think that our experience may have accelerated the transition to PACS and digital imaging in the United States." Siegel currently is involved in many new projects, including his involvement as lead for the Imaging Workspace, part of the National Cancer Institute's Bioinformatics Grid, as well as being the product line manager of the National Cancer Institute's Informatics Product Line.
7) Barry A. Siegel, MD, FACR
Professor of Radiology and Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine; Director of the Division of Nuclear Medicine at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology; Member of the University's Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center (St Louis)
Throughout his career, Siegel has been active in nuclear medicine research and has made contributions related to the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, the detection of thrombosis, and oncological applications of radionuclide tracers. Garnering 7.48% of the top 10 votes, Siegel is pleased with many of his accomplishments, including "the decision to 'go clinical' at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology PET facility in 1987 and the determination to abide by this decision in order to help show that clinical PET was important for patient care; the successful careers of the hundreds of nuclear medicine and diagnostic radiology residents who have trained in our program; and helping to create the National Oncologic PET Registry." A prolific writer and editor, with more than 280 journal articles, book chapters, and books to his credit, Siegel says that on the horizon, he hopes to "devise a strategy to slow down and then actually slow down. It remains to be seen whether I can achieve this."
8) Donald Resnick, MD
Professor of Radiology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
With 7.21% of the top 10 votes, Resnick says he is honored to be regarded as a top radiologist. "To be recognized for work that one thoroughly enjoys is an added bonus and one that I much appreciate," he says. Resnick, who has been at UCSD for more than 30 years and has an interest in musculoskeletal imaging (particularly MRI), says that his finest success is in helping others in the field. "My greatest achievement relates to the training of innumerable radiology fellows in the subspecialty of musculoskeletal imaging," he says. "The number of clinical and research fellows that I and my colleagues in bone radiology at UCSD have trained is more than 300, and many have become [worldwide] leaders in the field." Resnick has authored more than 900 original scientific articles and has written several books, including a multivolume textbook dealing with bone and joint imaging. He notes that he has no desire to retire at this time and will continue his work with clinical bone radiology.
9) John Lipscomb Ulmer, MD
Neuroradiologist at Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital; and Professor of Radiology, Chief of Neuroradiology Research, and Director of fMRI at the Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
"As a functional neuroradiologist, I am most interested in translating advanced brain-imaging techniques to clinical practice," says Ulmer, who collected 7.07% of the top 10 votes. "Through multidisciplinary collaborations, we have successfully improved patient outcomes at our institution using advanced physiological, biological, and functional imaging techniques. From the perspective of a translational neuroradiologist, this aspect of my work has been the most satisfying and rewarding." A diagnostic radiology resident and MRI and neuroradiology fellow of the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, NC), Ulmer is looking forward to a promising joint venture between academia and the corporate sector to bring advanced brain imaging to private practices. "I am extremely enthusiastic about this joint endeavor, for it promises to make the clinical accomplishments of our investigations available to all patients, be they in an academic institution or a private-practice setting."
10) Jeff Geschwind, MD
Associate Professor of Radiology, Oncology, and Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Director of Interventional Radiology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore)
Originally from Paris, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Boston University School of Medicine, Geschwind completed his residency training in diagnostic radiology at the University of California, San Francisco, with a focus on cardiac MR imaging—more specifically, the use of MR contrast media in the assessment of myocardial viability. He joined Johns Hopkins in 1998 and has been the recipient of numerous national and international awards and grants for his research in the field of cardiac MRI and liver cancer. Geschwind is most proud of "having been able to create a research lab in interventional radiology, with NIH funding, where pioneering work is being done on innovative cancer therapies. Furthermore, because of our clinical expertise, we can bring these newly developed therapeutic approaches to the clinic." His current research includes image-guided antimetabolic targeted therapy of liver cancer, assessment of tumor response using fMRI, and a new drug-delivery system for liver cancer.
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Technologist
1) Jane Rowland, RT(R)(M)
Lead Mammography Technologist at the Allen Medical Center (Oberlin, Ohio)
Nabbing almost one quarter of the top 10 votes (24.8%), Ohio-native Rowland began working at the Allen Medical Center in 1991. Her placement as a mammogram technologist was supposed to be temporary until the permanent tech returned from maternity leave, but Rowland has been there ever since. Rowland's most "treasured" accomplishments since obtaining her associate's degree in applied science, radiologic technology, from Lorain County Community College (Elyria, Ohio), are passing and receiving her ARRT Board License and Mammography License. "I studied and worked hard to acquire skills and gain knowledge specific to my chosen profession," she says. "[Also,] to be nominated and considered in the Medical Imaging Top 10 and placing in a publication where 26,000 of my peers will hear of me is certainly a momentous occasion. I am grateful for the honor and somewhat surprised at the attention." Rowland—mother of three (ages 25, 23, and 18) and wife for 28 years—says she learned her people skills when she started working for her uncle Tom in a family catering and wedding hall at the age of 13. "My uncle's plan and simple rule was to always look sharp, feel sharp, and, above all, smile," she says, adding that at the age of 50-plus, she is by no means done. Rowland intends to continue her education in mammography and says, "This is only the beginning of the rest of my life."
2) Therese "Terry" Duggan-Jahns, RT(R)(M)(CT)(MR)
Director of Clinical Services at the Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI in Federal Way, Wash)
"I am extremely honored to have been nominated, as I know there are many others who equally deserve this award and who also share a strong commitment to our profession and to patient care," says Duggan-Jahns, who captured 17.34% of the top 10 votes. "To receive this recognition from one's peers is the greatest compliment one can receive." She has been with CDI since August 2003, previously working with TRA Medical Imaging Centers, overseeing four 1.5T and one .35T open MR scanners. Since 1980, Duggan-Jahns also has worked as a part-time instructor in the Tacoma Community College's Radiologic Technologists Program, this past fall quarter instructing on sectional anatomy. "I have been extremely fortunate to have worked with a great team of administrators, radiologists, and co-workers throughout my career," she says. "They have shared their knowledge; believed in my skills and talents; and entrusted, encouraged, and supported me, giving me opportunities to succeed." One of Duggan-Jahns' greatest successes is helping to open the first freestanding outpatient MRI center in her community 19 years ago. "I am fortunate to be in a position to help direct and influence the future of this profession; to be able to share my knowledge and experiences (both successes and failures); and to train, hopefully inspire, encourage, and motive others in this profession," she says. "I find this personally rewarding as I learn from others as well."
3) M. Robert De Jong, Jr, RDMS, RDCS, RVT (tie)
Radiology Technical Manager of Ultrasound at Johns Hopkins Medical Systems (Baltimore)
"I am humbled that my peers recognize my love and passion for radiology and medical imaging, especially ultrasound," says De Jong, who captured 12.45% of the top 10 votes. "I love teaching, lecturing at local and national meetings, and instructing in scanning workshops." And that's just what he does as the secretary of the sonography section of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, as a member of the governmental relational committee of the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers, and as a member of the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers—as well as many other activities. De Jong says that the accomplishment of which he is most proud, however, is his family: "My marriage of 30 years to Linda, for without her love, support, and encouragement, I would not be where I am today. Also, I am very proud of my two sons and their accomplishments." He also looks back fondly to 1991, when he was promoted to chief imaging technologist in ultrasound at Johns Hopkins. "At that time, the ultrasound division had a turnover rate of every two to three years," De Jong explains. "With the support and guidance of my medical director and my managers, we have been able to improve working conditions such that the staffing has been stable and growing for the past ten years. I have an incredible staff, and many of my accomplishments are reflections of their successes."
3) Nancy Swanston, CNMT, RT(N) (tie)
Supervisor in Diagnostic Imaging/PET at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston)
It's clear: Swanston knows PET. In fact, she was part of the team that was responsible for effectively opening and operating MD Anderson's PET facility, which serves more than 40 patients each day and is one of the busiest PET facilities in the country. In the center, Swanston oversees five PET systems, drafting protocols for various nuclear medicine and PET procedures. She also designed MD Anderson's PET Training Program for technologists, and she now manages 25 employees. "By being acknowledged by my peers, I feel more confident in thinking that the patients we serve each day are being affected in a positive manner during their visit to our facility," says Swanston, who garnered 16.37% of the top 10 votes. "It's also nice to be appreciated. It makes all the dedication and commitment to the field of PET even more rewarding." The list of Swanston's activities and honors is long, and it includes secretary of the PET Center of Excellence for the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM in 2005–'06), Technologist Section Categorical Chair for SNM's upcoming 53rd Annual Meeting (2006), first and second place SNM Technologist Paper Award (2005), and the Mallinckrodt Award of Excellence (1999). "Over the past several years through lecturing on PET for the Academy of Molecular Imaging and the SNM Learning Center, I've realized that I love to teach," she says, noting that in the future, "I would like to continue to further my education and complete my master's so that I have even more to give."
4) Jill Blackburn, RT(R)(CT)
Lead CT Technologist at St Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center (Phoenix)
Blackburn is not ashamed to admit it: She loves all things continuing education in CT. In fact, she helped to create a 1-year CT certification program at the Gateway Community College (Phoenix), where she also instructs the "CT Procedures and Protocols" class and is a part-time instructor in CT anatomy and pathology as well as CT physics. Blackburn, who nabbed 12.16% of the top 10 votes, also is an independent consultant, and she performs on-site basic and advanced GE Healthcare CT training for hospital and outpatient imaging centers. Among Blackburn's professional associations are memberships in the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, the Arizona State Society of Radiologic Technologists, and both the Stroke Steering Committee and the Immediate Response Committee at St Joseph's. About this award, she says it feels great. "It's always an honor to be recognized as a leader in your chosen field."
5) Amanda Darling, RT(R)(CT)
CT Team Leader at St Vincent's Hospital (Jacksonville, Fla)
"I'm honored, and I feel proud that I have been voted into the Medical Imaging Top 10," says Darling, who collected 8.91% of the top 10 votes. Darling, whose responsibilities include operating the department and managing 22 staff members, graduated from St Vincent's School of Radiology in 1993. She then worked as a general radiographer for 3 years, entering the field of CT in 1996. This month, Darling begins cardiac training. Looking back, she says her proudest accomplishment is when the facility transitioned from a single-slice CT scanner to a multi-detector scanner with ease. She not only helped train staff techs, she also informed physicians of the capabilities that the CT scanner has to offer.
6) Tracey Adams, RT, RDMS
Ultrasound Manager at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Adams isn't afraid of commitment: She's been with Cincinnati Children's for 29 years, and she has managed the ultrasound section for the past 17 years. In fact, she started as a radiologic technologist student at the hospital. "I have the most wonderful group of people to work with, which makes my job that much more enjoyable," she says. "And I am thrilled to receive this recognition." Adams is most proud, however, of something outside of the hospital: "Being able to have a full-time career and raise a family. It was a juggling act for years, but both my daughters are now grown, and now I am looking forward to retirement so that I can travel with my husband."
7) Daniel C. Fernandez, RT(R)(MR)
MRI Technologist, Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI in Winter Park, Fla)
A graduate of the Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences (Orlando, Fla), Fernandez worked at various hospitals throughout Central Florida, and has been at CDI for the past 5 years as an MRI technologist. "MRI gives me the ability to combine my passion of photography with my passion for computers," he says, adding that being recognized by his peers is both an honor and an achievement. On a daily basis, Fernandez develops and optimizes MRI protocols, and he takes pride in that work. "The one thing I've never done in life is to assume that something can be perfect," he says. "Anything, no matter how perfect it might appear to be, can be improved in some way, shape, or form that leads to a close-to-perfect end result." Fernandez also considers himself a mentor of sorts. "I take great pride in absorbing information that I've learned and teaching it to the people around me," he says. "After all, what good is knowledge if you don't share it with the people who can help make a difference?" Coming up, Fernandez plans to obtain more education through seminars and gain some hands-on experience with a 3T MRI.
8) Dottie S. Brown, RT(R)(M)
Lead Dedicated Breast MRI Technologist at Breast Imaging of Oklahoma (Edmond, Okla)
Brown's objective isn't just to be the best breast MRI technologist she can be; it's to be a leading example to her five daughters in her home and her community. "As a radiographer, I have trained in many different modalities of medical imaging, specializing in mammography while working with an array of diagnostic equipment," she says. "My experience has provided me with the skills to train and lead others in excellent patient care. Having a passion for my work in helping others is an opportunity for my personal ministry." Brown has been with Breast Imaging of Oklahoma since 2002, previously working as a staff technologist with Mercy Health Center Inc. She also is a member of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists. Her strengths include "caring for patients in a gentle and comforting environment as well as supporting physicians and fellow technologists in a team effort to further our knowledge in quality care and patient education." In the future, Brown plans to teach others about the applications in her specialized field of breast MRI and breast MRI-guided biopsy.
9) Tracy Cothran, BSRT(R)(M)
Clinical Program Manager of Breast Imaging Services at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
"Being a part of the staff of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and our breast imaging team make me incredibly proud," says Cothran, who has been with the Alliance since early 2001, starting as the lead mammography technologist. "The entire staff is dedicated and passionate about making a difference in the lives of all our patients. It is a true honor to be a part of this family." Cothran gained certification in mammography in October 1996, after graduating with a bachelor's of science from the Oklahoma University Health Science Center's College of Allied Health (Oklahoma City). She was a 2003 member of the Exam Writing Team for the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists Breast Ultrasound Exam as well as the Alliance's team co-captain for the Susan G. Komen Foundation Race for the Cure in both 2001 and 2002. "Our breast imaging center recently expanded into a fabulous state-of-the-art facility," Cothran says. "I look forward to increasing our efficiency and productivity as well as studying new technologies and research for the advancement of breast-cancer diagnosis and treatment."
10) Wendy Bozosi, RT
MRI Coordinator at the Morton Plant Mease Bardmoor Outpatient & Surgery Center (Clearwater, Fla)
"I am totally shocked and surprised that I have been chosen," says Bozosi, who has been a technologist for 22 years and in MRI for 15 years. "There are so many other technologists who I work with who are highly skilled and talented in what they do. We have a top team in patient care." Originally from Pennsylvania, Bozosi has lived in North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Arkansas while working for a mobile company performing lithotripsy and CT. After becoming MRI registered in 1995, she joined Bardmoor in 1998 as an MRI technologist working with open MRI. Bozosi recently helped to launch Bardmoor's breast MRI program, but she insists that credit goes to the entire team. She also adds, "A personal positive life event that's not so much an accomplishment but a blessing is having my four-year-old son. He is my sunshine and keeps me busy."
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Radiation Oncologist/Cancer Researcher
1) Walter J. Curran, Jr, MD
Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital; and Clinical Director of Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center (Philadelphia)
Curran, who garnered 20.77% of the top 10 votes, leads the Department of Radiation Oncology's efforts to optimize the delivery of ionizing radiation in cancer therapy. "We at Jefferson's Department of Radiation Oncology are very honored by this recognition," Curran says. "Our unique strengths include a commitment to patient-focused clinical research in radiation oncology, which means implementing and testing the latest approaches to intensity-modulated radiotherapy and stereotactic radiation. It also involves testing novel systemic therapies with radiotherapy." Under Curran's guidance and leadership, the Department continues to develop and use innovative radiation-therapy technology in treating cancer. "I am particularly proud of the efforts of our faculty and staff in conducting such research," says Curran, who also is group chairman of the National Cancer Institute-supported Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, a Philadelphia-based consortium of more than 200 institutions in the United States and Canada aligned to conduct clinical trials. "Our department is among the leaders in the nation in enrolling patients on such high-priority trials, and it is our belief that direct patient benefit can be derived from this research."
2) James D. Cox, MD
Professor and Head of the Division of Radiation Oncology and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston)
Cox, who collected 19.35% of the top 10 votes, is no stranger to being recognized. In 1998, he won the Clinical Research Award from the Association of Community Cancer Centers in Seattle. In 2003, he was given the Charles A. LeMaistre, MD, Outstanding Achievement award in Cancer from MD Anderson. And in 2004, he received a Gold Medal from the Texas Radiological Society. Cox also served as president of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in 1985–'86. As the chair from 1987 to 1997, Cox led the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group "during a period when major studies were designed or reported that changed the practice of medicine in the United States and around the world," he says, noting that clinical trials included cancer of the esophagus, lung, nasopharynx, larynx, cervix, and anal canal. "The most exciting plan for the future is completion of our proton facility and beginning patient treatments with proton therapy." Cox is quick to note that he couldn't have done it all alone. "All of the activities I've noted represent a team effort of great magnitude," he says. "Therefore, I am being recognized for the accomplishments of the teams of which I have been privileged to be a part."
3) Sarah Donaldson, MD
Catharine and Howard Avery Professor in the Stanford School of Medicine; and Associate Chair and Residency Program Director of Radiation Oncology at the Stanford University Medical Center (Stanford, Calif)
"I am honored to have been selected by the readers of Medical Imaging," says Donaldson, who captured 14.06% of the top 10 votes. But it isn't just MI doling out the honors; some of her recent awards include being named a "Top Bay Area Physician" in 2005 by Best Doctors Inc (Boston) and being named to the Who's Who in Science and Engineering list for 2005–'06. Donaldson also wears many other hats, including a courtesy medical staff member at Washington Hospital (Fremont, Calif), medical staff member of the VA Palo Alto Health Care System (Palo Alto, Calif), chief of radiation oncology service at Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, and deputy clinic chief of radiation oncology at Stanford. Of what is she most proud? "It's been the opportunity for leadership positions in several radiological organizations, including being past president of the American Board of Radiology and past president of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology."
4) John H. Suh, MD
Director of the Gamma Knife Radiosurgery Center; and Staff Physician in the Brain Tumor Institute at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Nabbing 13.81% of the top 10 votes, Suh is one of the inaugural Medical Imaging Editorial Advisory Board members. "I am very humbled and honored to be selected by the readers of Medical Imaging," he says. "I have been fortunate to work with colleagues who have allowed me to develop my research and clinical interests." Currently a written board contributor for the American Board of Radiology and in-service exams, Suh is a member of several societies, including the American College of Radiology and the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. He has participated in numerous in-house, pharmaceutical, and cooperative group trials and is chairing an international phase trial 3 of whole-brain radiation therapy, Efaproxiral, and supplemental oxygen for women with brain metastases from breast cancer. Suh, who won the National Brain Tumor Foundation Clinical Award in 2003, serves as the principal investigator of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group at The Cleveland Clinic.
5) C. Carl Jaffe, MD, FACC
Branch Chief, Diagnostic Imaging Branch of the Cancer Imaging Program in the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis for the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, Md); and Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine (New Haven, Conn)
Jaffe's career focus has been computer applications in diagnostic imaging, and he has been a visiting scientist at the Office of High Performance Computing and Communications at the National Library of Medicine as well as a visiting professor in applied physics at Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands. Jaffe, who scored 13.68% of the top 10 votes, founded the Center for Advanced Instructional Media at the Yale School of Medicine, and it received the Pirelli International Award in 2005 for communication of science and technology carried out entirely on the Internet. He has been a chairman of the Board of Scientific Counselors National Library of Medicine as well as second VP of the Radiological Society of North America. Jaffe has held a variety of grant awards, including an NIH Research Career Development Award, and he has published or edited eight books and more than 180 monographs and scientific journal articles.
6) Thomas Guerrero, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston)
No one can tell Guerrero's story better than him. "It is a long process before you see your research accomplishments incorporated into mainstream medicine and become part of the standard of care," he says. "I recently gave a speech where I had to illustrate this point. I cited my first graduate school project, which was " ... an investigation of rapid whole-body PET scanning ... with a view toward its eventual use in screening for metastatic lesions." That work ... was the beginning of the present-day whole-body FDG-PET imaging used in cancer staging. It has taken until this time—more than 15 years—and the research contributions of many others for that procedure to become part of the standard of care." Collecting 10.84% of the top 10 votes, Guerrero says he was quite surprised by the honor and acknowledges his current collaborators for their support and encouragement—a list 22 long, from Yerko Borghero, MD, to Yuan Zhao, MS. What's next? "We have a protocol awaiting final approval to investigate pulmonary perfusion imaging from CT without contrast," he says. "Both this imaging procedure and ventilation imaging from CT without contrast, [a paper on which was published in July 2005], will allow the incorporation of functional images into widespread use in radiotherapy treatment planning practice."
7) David A. Jaffray, PhD
Head of Radiation Physics at Princess Margaret Hospital (Toronto)
Garnering 6.32% of the top 10 votes, Jaffray says he was quite surprised by his Top 10 finish. But he shouldn't be, especially with all of the research awards on his plate, including an MR-based simulation process for advanced radiation therapy (principal investigator), multimodal contrast agents for therapy guidance (principal investigator), spatio-temporal and amplification of radiation responses innovation center (project leader), cone-beam tomography from truncated projections (co-investigator), and hypoxia in tumors—clinical and experimental studies (co-investigator, project 4). Jaffray holds an American Board of Medical Physicist Certification in Radiation Oncology as well as a PhD from the University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario) in medical biophysics. In the future from Jaffray, look for the development of a new image-guided therapeutics facility.
8) Gregory A. Fortier, MD
Director of Quantum Imaging & Therapeutic Associates (Lewisberry, Pa); and Division Chief of the Radiation Oncology Division at York Cancer Center (York, Pa)
For more than 18 years, Fortier has practiced at the York Cancer Center, which evaluates about 2,000 new cancer cases per year and is affiliated with The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins (Baltimore). With regard to this award, Fortier says, "I am honored and humbled. I feel fortunate to be able to practice in a field where the rewards are so great because of the tremendous impact we can have on our patients' lives. I also am fortunate to have partners and a health system that share a similar vision of patient-focused medical care." A member of such organizations as the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American College of Radiation Therapy, and the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, Fortier is most proud of the leadership he has provided as division director for radiation oncology as well as "the role I played in the development of the oncology program at our hospital," he says. "My most exciting challenge in radiation oncology remains how to continually integrate the technological advances that are available but to do it in a data-driven, cost-efficient manner that still provides state-of-the-art care for our patients."
9) John M. Buatti, MD
Professor and Head of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine (Iowa City)
Buatti, who admits to being surprised and shocked at being in the top 10, says that one of his proudest accomplishments is "successfully moving to a completely paperless, digital environment in the new Center of Excellence in Image-Guided Radiation Therapy," he says. "Also, working with our staff of all types has been a distinct pleasure." Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Buatti completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Georgetown University (Washington) and his residency in radiation oncology at the University of Arizona (Tucson). He currently is a clinical professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center (Gainesville) and a secondary appointment with the Department of Otolaryngology at Carver.
10) Anthony V. D'Amico, MD
Professor and Chief of Genitourinary Radiation Oncology at Brigham and Women's Hospital Dana Farber Cancer Institute; and Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School (Boston)
"It is humbling, given how much we still have to learn about prostate cancer in order to cure the disease," D'Amico says of being voted in the top 10. But he is working toward that goal, particularly with such assignments as director and founder of the ultrasound- and MR-guided prostate brachytherapy program at the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, co-chair of the biannual Harvard Medical School course in genitourinary oncology, and a speaker and panelist on the FDA Prostate Cancer Endpoints for Clinical Trials workshop—among many others. Professional society involvement includes the American Brachytherapy Society, the American Radium society, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and many more.
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Nuclear Physicist/Nuclear Medicine Researcher
1) Elliot K. Fishman, MD
Professor of Radiology and Oncology, and Director of Diagnostic Imaging and Body CT for the Kimmel Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore)
Fishman, who captured 21.21% of the top 10 votes, says he is very honored to be recognized by the readers of Medical Imaging—"especially since my focus is on diagnostic radiology on body CT scanning. I am very impressed that this expertise carries over." Fishman's professional organizations span a variety of fields, including the Society of Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance, the American Roentgen Ray Society, the International Society for Optical Engineering, the Society for Computer Applications in Radiology, the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, and many more. Two of Fishman's proudest accomplishments include working with Richard L. Wahl, MD, (see #2 in this category) on several PET/CT articles. "And our group has published a number of the original clinical applications for PET/CT scanning over the past several years," he says. "Our plans are to continue development of multi-slice imaging and helping with clinical applications for PET/CT."
2) Richard L. Wahl, MD
Professor of Radiology and Oncology, Director of the Division of Nuclear Medicine/PET, Henry N. Wagner Professor of Nuclear Medicine, Vice Chair Technology and New Business Development of the Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (Baltimore)
During the 2005 Radiological Society of North America meeting, the second edition of the Atlas of Clinical PET Imaging—published by Wahl and his co-authors (Sally F. Barrington, MD, and Michael N. Maisey) through Oxford University Press—was released. "It's the first imaging textbook I'm aware of that has a DVD with functional imaging display software as part of the book," notes Wahl, who scored 15.73% of the top 10 votes. Doing so, he says, "is a significant honor." Wahl currently has several grants supported, including studying the techniques of anatamolecular imaging, interdisciplinary small-animal imaging for oncology, and many more. He serves on the editorial boards of seven national and international journals, such as the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging and Biology. About his proudest accomplishments, Wahl says, "I am generally pleased that I have had a major role in introducing FDG-PET scanning as a valuable tool in cancer imaging in a diverse array of human cancers and to have helped move forward the technology of PET/CT imaging." For the future, Wahl sees revolution. "I am hopeful that the whole approach to cancer therapy can be changed through the rational deployment of PET imaging," he says. "In this way, quick assessments of tumor response in individual patients would lead to patient-individualized, response-adaptive therapies."
3) Peter S. Conti, MD, PhD, FACR, FACNP
Professor of Radiology and Director of the PET Imaging Science Center at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles); and President of the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM)
On nabbing 15.17% of the top 10 votes, Conti says, "It is quite an honor to be recognized by my peers as a pioneer and leader in the field of nuclear medicine. After many long years of dedication to the growth and development of PET and its role in cancer detection and patient management, I am proud to see its current widespread acceptance by so many medical specialists and its integration into patient management." Conti's list of accolades runs long, starting with becoming an Eagle Scout in 1973 to his Distinguished Alumni Award from Johns Hopkins University's Division of Nuclear Medicine in 2003 to his current presidency of the SNM. Conti is certified by both the American Board of Radiology and the American Board of Nuclear Medicine, and he currently serves on the Nuclear Medicine Subcommittee of the Radiological Society of North America. "We are looking forward to developing the next generation of clinical radiotracers for PET imaging in the areas of cell proliferation, gene therapy, and angiogenesis," he explains, "as well as new radioligands for therapeutic applications."
4) H. William Strauss, MD
Clinical Director of Nuclear Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York); and Professor of Radiology/Nuclear Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical School (New York)
A nuclear medicine physician with expertise in cardiac imaging, Strauss collected 13.2% of the top 10 votes—to which he says, "I am surprised and overwhelmed to receive this honor." A former professor of radiology/nuclear medicine at both Stanford University (Stanford, Calif) and Harvard Medical School (Boston), Strauss is a member of the Publications Committee of the Society of Nuclear Medicine. Looking back on his accomplishments, Strauss says, "I am proud of training more than 70 physicians in nuclear medicine and nuclear cardiology and then watching the success of these trainees." For the future, he plans to investigate "the role of coronary CT, angiography, and myocardial perfusion imaging as an integral part of evaluating patient risks of coronary events."
5) Marcelo F. Di Carli, MD
Chief of the Division of Nuclear Medicine/PET; Director of Nuclear Cardiology; and Co-Director of Cardiovascular Imaging at Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston)
A member of six professional organizations, including the Argentine Society of Cardiology and the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, Di Carli captured 11.94% of the top 10 votes. One of Di Carli's research goals has been to apply new imaging techniques with PET to the study of patients with ischemic heart failure to identify those patients in whom surgical revascularization is likely to provide a functional and prognostic improvement—an alternative to heart transplantation. "I am honored to be recognized by Medical Imaging," he says, noting that a prized accomplishment was organizing a multimodality, interdisciplinary cardiac imaging program. Coming up, Di Carli is the principal investigator of a prospective clinical trial that will evaluate the role of SPECT, PET/CT, and CT angiography for cardiology.
6) Dean F. Wong, MD, PhD
Radiology Vice Chair of Research Administration and Training; and Professor of Radiology, Psychiatry, and Environmental Health Sciences at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore)
A man wearing many hats, Wong's current research involves the design, development, and application of radiopharmaceuticals imaged by PET and SPECT for the study of in vivo brain chemistry. Wong is a pioneer in the development of dopamine radiotracers and participated in the team that carried out the first D2 dopamine PET radioligand in the 1980s. "My work over the past 25 years has been in imaging neuroreceptors and neurotransmitter systems in such psychiatric conditions as schizophrenia, substance abuse, and alcoholism," says Wong, who nabbed 10.96% of the top 10 votes. Currently, Wong is the principal investigator of two NIH Shared Instrumentation Grants on research PET scanners. "The most recent study is on the high-resolution research tomograph, one of the highest-resolution PET scanners available and of which there are only some 15 worldwide," he says. "This will open the opportunities for tremendous events in brain-imaging research as well as challenges in image reconstruction and computation."
7) Ernest V. Garcia, PhD
Professor of Radiology at Emory University School of Medicine (Atlanta)
"It feels humbling to be recognized with this honor for what we have been able to accomplish as a team effort," says Garcia, who captured 10.11% of the top 10 votes. "I've been fortunate in my 30-year career to work with remarkable physicians and scientists." Garcia joined Emory in 1985 after 12 years at the University of Miami and at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles). His research interest includes medical imaging and bioinformatics, and his main area of development has been in the field of quantitative analysis of cardiac images. In fact, his techniques have resulted in six commercial products used worldwide for quantifying myocardial perfusion images. "These tools also helped standardize acquisition, processing, and interpretation protocols that contributed to the widespread use of high-quality imaging studies and the success of nuclear cardiology," Garcia says. On the horizon is continuing cardiac image fusion of anatomic and physiologic information as well as exploring the field of cardiovascular molecular imaging. "On a personal note, I'm excited that this year, I have reached the point in my career where I can dedicate all my efforts to research and development," he says. "This is my bliss and my assurance that as I continue to climb the so-called ladder of success, it will be leaning against the right structure."
8) Alexander Gottschalk, MD
Professor of Radiology at Michigan State University (East Lansing)
"It is awesome to get this recognition from the readers of MI," says Gottschalk—and it is awesome for MI to feature such a distinguished physician who is a past president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine (1974–'75), former second VP of the Radiological Society of North America (1977), president of The Fleischner Society (1989–'90), and editor-in-chief of the Yearbook of Nuclear Medicine (1994–2003). "One of the things I am most proud of is the continued success of the marriage of the Anger Gamma Camera with the Tc-99m radiopharmaceuticals," he explains. "It was my good luck to work with the late Hal Anger at the Donner Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif, taking the first clinical pictures on his prototype camera in 1962 to 1964. ... One of my former residents once told me that I 'am the midwife of modern nuclear medicine.'"
9) James M. Galvin, DSc
Professor of Radiation Oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University (TJU); and Director of the Medical Physics Division in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (Philadelphia)
Board-certified in therapeutic radiological physics, Galvin has co-authored numerous publications, abstracts, and chapters in the fields of medical physics and radiation therapy. "I am pleased to be named as an expert in the field," says Galvin, who, prior to joining TJU, served as associate professor and director of physics, radiation oncology, at Tisch Hospital of the NYU Medical Center (New York). One of Galvin's proudest accomplishments stems from the early 1990s, when he and his colleagues were approached to design a modern version of a radiation oncology simulator built around a CT scanner—a device that turned into the AcQSIM VoxelQ CT-Simulator. "This technology has completely changed the way we simulate patients for radiation treatment," he says. "During the time I worked to help design the modern version of this technology, I thought that I was lucky to be part of what would certainly be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Little did I know that the modern version of the multileaf collimator was just around the corner!" For the future, Galvin is working with a team at TJU in developing a cone-beam CT attachment to linear accelerators and defining the workflow for this image-guided technology.
10) Mark Madsen, PhD, FAAPM, FACR
Professor of Radiology at the University of Iowa (Iowa City)
"One of the attractions of a career in nuclear medicine is the widespread support and cooperation among all professions," Madsen explains. "This spirit of collaboration with physicians, radiochemists, radiopharmacists, technologists, physicists, and engineers has made this field exciting and vibrant. It has been and continues to be a pleasure working in nuclear medicine, and I am very grateful for this recognition." Madsen, who received his PhD in radiological sciences from the University of Wisconsin and was certified as a medical nuclear physicist by the American Board of Radiology in 1983, has been active in the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) for more than 20 years and is the current president of the SNM Computer and Instrumentation Council. "An area that has given me a great deal of satisfaction is teaching," he says. "I continue to be directly involved in the training of technologists, residents, and graduate students, and it is very gratifying to be able to share in their successes." Madsen's future plans are solidly focused in nuclear medicine, and he is involved in a wealth of research projects that "range from radionuclide therapy of neuroendocrine tumors to image-perception methodology."
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Cardiovascular Imager/Cardiac Catheterization Lab Director
1) Ethan Halpern, MD, MS
Associate Professor of Radiology and Professor of Urology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University (TJU); and Co-Director of the Jefferson Prostate Diagnostic Center (Philadelphia)
A specialist in ultrasound and cardiac imaging, Halpern scored 19.15% of the top 10 votes, a recognition for which he is honored. "The cardiac CT program at Jefferson is now recognized throughout the city of Philadelphia as a premiere program that receives referrals from physicians in many of the other health systems in our city," he says. "We are the referral center of choice for complex cardiac CT in cases involving bypass grafts, stents, and valvular abnormalities, in addition to the more bread-and-butter cases to evaluate the native coronary circulation. Thank you for the public acknowledgement of our efforts and achievements." Halpern directs coronary CT angiography at TJU, and he says that many local cardiac surgeons refer their most complex cases to his facility for preoperative evaluation using cardiac CT. "I am most proud of those cases in which we improve patient care and outcome by detecting abnormalities and defining cardiac anatomy to optimize surgical intervention," he says. Coming up for Halpern is to continue with his cardiac CT work and eventually expand the facility's services to include 3T cardiac MRI. He adds, "We are researching the application of cardiac CT for evaluation of myocardial perfusion so that a single examination can be used for coronary arteries, cardiac morphology, ventricular function, and myocardial perfusion."
2) Mario J. Garcia, MD
Director of Cardiac Imaging and Co-Director of the Integrated Cardiac Tomography Center at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF)
Nabbing 15.64% of the top 10 votes, Garcia received his MD from The Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urenia (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic), and he performed his cardiology fellowship in cardiac imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston) and at CCF. His special interests are valvular heart disease and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Garcia has been a staff cardiologist at CCF since 1996, and he was the director of the Echocardiology Laboratory at CCF from 1999 through 2004. A member of the board of directors of the American Society of Echocardiography since 2002, Garcia is certified by the American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine, the American Board of Internal Medicine, and the National Board of Echocardiography. His professional society memberships include the American College of Physicians, the American Heart Association Circulation Council, and the American College of Cardiology.
3) Eric J. Topol, MD
Chief Academic Officer and Chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF); and Provost of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU of Cleveland)
Scoring 15.2% of the top 10 votes, Topol has studied, trained, and instructed across the country—an MD from the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry (Rochester, NY); residency at the University of California, San Francisco, Moffitt Hospital; a fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore); various professorships at the University of Michigan School of Medicine (Ann Arbor, Mich); and now his work at CCF in Cleveland. Among the many hats Topol wears is a professor in the Department of Genetics at CWRU and a consulting professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine (Durham, NC). His lectures span the globe as well, including the Simon Dark Lecture in March 2005 for the American College of Cardiology meeting in Orlando, Fla, the Gruentzig Lecture in August 2004 for the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Munich, Germany, and the AE Diamond Lectureship in May 2004 at the University of Toronto. He serves on the editorial boards for a wealth of publications, including American Journal of Cardiology, Clinical Cardiology, and Men's Health.
4) Roberto M. Lang, MD, FACC, FAHA, FESC, FASE
Professor of Medicine, Director of the Noninvasive Cardiac Imaging Lab, and Director of the Cardiology Fellowship Program at the University of Chicago Hospitals
Lang, who collected 9.21% of the top 10 votes, has published more than 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts during his career, the most recent of which studied the adverse cardiac effects of acute alcohol ingestion in young adults. He also serves as a manuscript review consultant for most cardiology peer-reviewed journals and has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Echocardiography, the Journal of Heart Failure, and the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. Lang's major research interest is the clinical utility of noninvasive techniques in assessing left ventricular contractile state/myocardial perfusion. In 1998, he won the Louis Block Award for noninvasive assessment of myocardial oxygen consumption; and in 1993, he won the Outstanding Clinical Research Award, Cardiology Section, from the University of Chicago.
5) Stanley Katz, MD
Chief of Cardiology at North Shore University Hospital (Manhasset, NY), and VP of Cardiovascular Services at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System (New Hyde Park, NY)
"It is indeed a privilege to have this honor conferred upon me, especially in light of the many other skilled and qualified physicians in this field," says Katz, who claimed 8.92% of the votes. "I take particular pride in staying at the forefront of new technological advancements in the field." He certainly does: A decade before it became routine practice in 1994, Katz was performing acute infarct angioplasty. Also, he performed coronary stenting with biliary stents in 1993, which was more than a year before the FDA approved the procedure. And in 1996, Katz formalized a process that has become a standard at many healthcare facilities: storing digital archives on CD. A professor of medicine (clinical) at the New York University School of Medicine, Katz also serves as the director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at North Shore-Long Island. In the future, Katz expects to "explore ways of integrating new technological advances and breakthroughs in cardiac imaging, both in our cardiac cath labs and on the CT front," he says. "I also foresee tremendous advances in the area of cardiac IT—a new and very exciting area in which I am eager to participate."
6) John A. Rumberger, PhD, MD, FACC
Medical Director of the HealthWISE Wellness Diagnostic Center (Dublin, Ohio), and Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the Ohio State University (Columbus)
An inaugural member of the Medical Imaging Editorial Advisory Board, Rumberger garnered 7.89% of the top 10 votes and says that he is truly honored by the recognition. "I feel it validates the years of dedication to a technology that is only now being recognized as a valuable tool in clinical and diagnostic cardiology," says Rumberger, who specializes in preventive cardiology and cardiovascular imaging. He has published nearly 200 peer-reviewed articles, 200 abstracts, and 35 book chapters covering a variety of applications for cardiac CT. Rumberger, who received his MD from the University of Miami's School of Medicine and his PhD in bioengineering from Ohio State University's graduate school, is also author of The Way Diet, a complete lifestyle guide to diet, exercise, and stress management. Looking back on his accomplishments, he says he realizes how lucky he has been. "[I was] exposed to such a phenomenal technology at its infancy, when almost anything was 'new,' and now am able to apply these trials and tribulations toward the goals of preventing heart disease through the ability to directly visualize the disease process," he says. "I have learned from my mentors, been challenged by my colleagues, quizzed by patients, and supported by my family. To have had this opportunity is my greatest accomplishment."
7) U. Joseph Schoepf, MD
Associate Professor of Radiology, Director of CT Research, and Codirector of the Center for Advanced Imaging Research at the Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston)
"It is a quite humbling experience to have the readers of Medical Imaging rank me as one of the medical field's top cardiovascular imagers," says Schoepf, who nabbed 6.87% of the top 10 votes. "This great honor will encourage me to continue my service to our field with all of my strength." Born in Austria, Schoepf joined the Medical University in 2004. Previously, he was a staff radiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston). He is a member of a host of professional organizations, including the North American Society of Cardiac Imaging, the Society of Cardiovascular CT, the European Society of Thoracic Imaging, and the American College of Radiology (ACR), the latter for which he serves on the Cardiac CT Guidelines Committee as well as the Appropriateness Criteria Committee for Cardiac Imaging. Schoepf also is the 2003 winner of the Best Scientific Chest Paper from the European Congress of Radiology.
8) John Carroll, MD
Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado; Director of the Cardiac and Vascular Center, and Chief of Cardiology at the University of Colorado Hospital (Denver)
"I am honored for this recognition," Carroll says, "but I feel that the credit is due to James Chen, PhD, who has been my partner in this work for more than a decade." That work includes a recent publication on the dynamic reconstruction of 3-D coronary arterial trees based on a sequence of biplane angiograms as well as a National Institute of Health-sponsored study on 3-D coronary reconstruction and multimodality fusion. Carroll—who collected 6.29% of the top 10 votes—received his MD from the University of Chicago and two cardiology fellowships (one clinical, the other research) at Tufts-New England Medical Center Hospital (Boston). He also was a cardiology research fellow at Universitattspital in Zurich. For the future, Carroll plans to work on "the use of CT data to be used to plan and execute a variety of cardiac interventions."
9) J. Jeffrey Carr, MS, MD
Associate Professor of Radiologic Sciences; Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences; and Vice-Chair Clinical Research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine (Winston-Salem, NC)
"I have always taken a unique prospective on cardiovascular imaging that combines my training in cardiovascular MR and CT with my background in public health," says Carr, who garnered 5.56% of the top 10 votes. "The focus on preventing the development of cardiovascular disease [CVD] and understanding atherosclerosis has tremendous potential in reducing the burden of CVD across the globe. I am definitely honored [for this recognition], but this also should serve to encourage imagers to focus their research efforts on CVD prevention." Carr received his MD from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (Nashville, Tenn), and he received his master's of science from Wake Forest in 1998 with a focus on comparing reader accuracy for breast cancer with film and video display of mammograms. He completed an MRI fellowship from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) in 1994, and he was a senior fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania in 1994 as well. Currently, Carr is a reviewer for both the American Journal of Roentgenology and Circulation, and he is a member of, among several other committees, the American Heart Association's Committee on Cardiovascular Imaging and Intervention. "When we built our first cardiac CT scanner in the late 1990s, it was really a novel concept," he says. "At the time, most of my colleagues thought that moving from cardiac MR to cardiac CT was a detour on understanding CVD. It is gratifying to see a technology, like cardiac CT, move into the mainstream of medicine."
10) Steven M. Strobbe, DO
Executive Physician and CEO of the Florida Institute for Advanced Diagnostic Imaging (FIFADI of Port Richey, Fla)
Another inaugural member of the Medical Imaging Editorial Advisory Board, Strobbe has almost 30 years of experience as a practicing physician and founder/operator of several medical facilities, the latest of which is FIFADI. Along with further developing cardiac MR, FIFADI fields research in coronary CT angiography (CTA). Strobbe—who nabbed 5.26% of the top 10 votes—has helped to refine the procedures and protocols in CTA case preparation and management to enable physicians to evaluate and diagnose cardiac cases within 15 minutes. "I am pleased to be involved with the development and implementation of noninvasive CTA technology that will eventually replace several invasive and noninvasive diagnostic cardiac procedures," he says. "I truly enjoy working with talented scientists and computer geniuses in the medical-imaging community. We have a talented core of people in our country who are making a profound impact on the speed at which medical-imaging science is progressing." In the future, Strobbe hopes to spread the word on the profound effects CTA can and will have on cardiology. "Our goal," he shares, "is to take the diagnostic cardiac catheter out of the hands of the invasive cardiologist and replace it with a computer mouse to review images."
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Women's Imaging Specialist
1) Catherine W. Piccoli, MD
Assistant Professor of Radiology at the Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University (TJU), and Director of the Breast Imaging Center at TJU Hospital (Philadelphia)
"I am overwhelmed to have been recognized as a leader in women's imaging and to be included in a group of outstanding radiologists, which includes my mentors at TJU," says Piccoli, who captured 18.27% of the top 10 votes. Piccoli's research interests include breast imaging using contrast agents, breast biopsy, MRI of lymph nodes, and experimental contrast. "I am proud to have collaborated on a number of multi-institutional research projects over the years," she says, "which have helped to establish the utility of breast ultrasound, digital mammography, and breast MRI." In fact, Piccoli was one of the first radiologists in Philadelphia to bring breast MRI and MRI-guided breast biopsy into clinical practice. "Our first cases were performed in 1993," she says. "Less than 50 breast MRI examinations were done in the first year of evaluation. ... As MRI finally became an accepted breast-imaging method within the past few years, I was confident in offering the service, having had the benefit of accumulating long-term experience and having established an MRI biopsy program." For the future, Piccoli hopes to witness the success of the soon-to-be Breast Care Center at TJU, for which she worked on the architectural plans. "Leaving Jefferson in the hands of highly skilled breast imagers," she says, "I plan to move on, however, to establish an integrated breast imaging and biopsy program in southern New Jersey at South Jersey Radiology Associates."
2) Laurie L. Fajardo, MD, MBA, FACR
Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine (Iowa City)
Nabbing 11.76% of the top 10 votes, Fajardo says this acknowledgment feels tremendous. "This is something that I've dedicated a part of my life to, both in providing care to women and in pursuing cutting-edge research," she says. "This recognition is wonderful." An adjunct professor of radiology for the University of Virginia (Charlottesville), Fajardo joined the University of Iowa in 2002 after several years at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (Baltimore) and prior work at the University of Virginia and the University of Arizona (Tucson). Her areas of expertise include breast imaging and image-guided intervention, digital imaging detector development, technology assessment, and health policy. In fact, she helped to develop stereotactic image-guided breast biopsy as an alternative to breast surgery. "[I also] contributed to the development of digital mammography and its translations to clinical applications," notes Fajardo, who won the GE Radiology Research Academic Award in 1992, 1993, and 1994; was a 1995 fellow of the Society of Breast Imaging; and won the University of Virginia's Woman of Academic Achievement Award in 1997. Coming up for Fajardo is continuing to succeed in her newly appointed role as chairperson of radiology at the University of Iowa. "There are not many women department chairs in the United States," she says. "And currently, I am investigating the development and application of digital tomosynthesis to breast imaging as an improvement to two-dimensional digital mammography."
3) Robyn L. Birdwell, MD
Section Head of the Division of Breast Imaging at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH of Boston); and Associate Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School (Boston)
Birdwell collected 10.53% of the top 10 votes, and she is honored. "I am excited and somewhat amazed that readers voted for me. I hope that my clinical, educational, and research efforts directed toward breast imaging and healthcare are worthy of recognition," says Birdwell, who recently joined BWH after almost 10 years with Stanford University Medical Center (Stanford, Calif), where she was, among other titles, the acting section chief of the Breast Imaging Section. But appointments at these renowned institutions are not what Birdwell considers her biggest feat. "Without hesitation, my greatest accomplishment is to have lived and grown as the mother of three and stepmother of three other glorious people," she says. "My husband and I marvel at the resilience, energy, and support that our children bring to us. In my chosen career as a breast imager, my greatest pride comes in watching trainees, medical students, residents, and fellows increase their skills as clinicians, imagers, and compassionate individuals. Playing even a small part in the creation of tomorrow's physicians and knowing that women's health is of paramount importance to these aspiring caregivers is a privilege." On the horizon, Birdwell says, is a new breast-imaging center within BWH, and she will play a pivotal role in its success. "With the support of the hospital, our radiology department, our outstanding and dedicated breast-imaging technologists, the mammography van, and the generosity of donors," she says, "we look forward to further strengthening those aspects of breast healthcare where we know there is room for improvement while continuing to provide the personal, knowledge-based, compassionate care that women have come to expect and deserve."
4) Ellen Mendelson, MD
Professor of Radiology for the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University (Chicago); and Chief of the Breast Imaging Section and Director of Breast Imaging for the Lynn Sage Comprehensive Breast Center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital
A New York native, Mendelson received her master's degree in English and comparative literature from Columbia University (New York), studied English literature and linguistics in the doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin (Madison), and received her MD from Northwestern in 1980. She also completed her medical internship; residency in diagnostic radiology; and a fellowship in interventional radiology, CT, and ultrasound at Northwestern. Mendelson herself has extensive experience in teaching and directing residents and fellows. In fact, in 1991, she offered the Eastern United States' first fellowship in women's imaging, and she currently trains four fellows per year. Mendelson, who received 9.6% of the top 10 votes, also has planned and directed numerous CME courses in breast imaging, women's imaging, and ultrasound. Examples include being the course director for the Lynn Sage Breast Imaging Seminar for the past 4 years, the May 2000 Society for the Advancement of Women's Imaging's Third Annual Symposium, and the 20th Annual Pittsburgh Breast Imaging Seminar in August 2000. Mendelson's list of memberships and leadership positions runs long and includes being a member of the American Association for Women Radiologists since 1988 and being the American Board of Radiology's Examiner in Breast Imaging since 1992.
5) Constance Lehman, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Radiology, and Chief of the Section of Breast Imaging at the University of Washington Medical Center (Seattle); and Director of Breast Imaging at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Collecting 7.59% of the top 10 votes, Lehman is a member of the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) and was the principal investigator for ACRIN 6667, a recent study that evaluated the role of MRI in women with a current breast-cancer diagnosis; results are pending. "I am pleased and honored to be recognized by my peers in this field," she says. "With the support of my department and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, I am proud to have built a breast-imaging program at the University of Washington that promotes the three central components of our academic mission: highest-quality clinical services, cutting-edge research, and stimulating programs. I am proud that our program has stimulated residents to pursue careers in breast imaging." Lehman, who received her MD from Yale University (New Haven, Conn) and completed a fellowship in breast imaging at the University of Washington, was a 2002 fellow of the Society of Breast Imaging and a 2003 winner of the Certificate of Outstanding Contribution from ACRIN. She is a member of countless professional organizations and their committees, including the Breast Imaging Steering Committee of ACRIN, the Steering Committee of the International Breast MRI Consortium, the National Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium, and the Breast Specimen Repository and Registry Oversight Committee. "Our team is currently moving forward with many exciting research activities to elucidate the potential of breast MRI in earlier breast-cancer detection, more accurate diagnosis, and more accurate assessment of response to therapy," Lehman says. "I also am excited with our plans to bring higher-quality breast-cancer detection and diagnosis to traditionally underserved women."
6) Nagi F. Khouri, MD (tie)
Associate Professor of Radiology and Oncology, and Director of Breast Imaging, at the Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center (Baltimore)
In the late 1980s, Khouri—who received 7.43% of the top 10 votes—was the first to introduce image-guided breast biopsies in Maryland, and he has been practicing breast imaging almost exclusively since January 1987. Other proud accomplishments of Khouri's include "contributing to the recognition of breast imagers as breast specialists," he says, "and acting as a woman's breast doctor." Khouri received his MD from the American University of Beirut (Lebanon), where he completed his residency in diagnostic radiology. He completed another residency in diagnostic radiology from The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore), where he also completed a fellowship in pediatric radiology. Coming up for Khouri: "To build the Division of Breast Imaging at Hopkins by recruiting breast imagers who share the goals of excellence and leadership," he says, adding that he also plans to begin research on tomosynthesis in breast imaging.
6) Etta D. Pisano, MD, FACR (tie)
Kenan Professor and Director of the University of North Carolina Biomedical Research Imaging Center in the Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine (UNC of Chapel Hill, NC)
If Pisano's name rings a bell, it is because she was the principal investigator on the much-discussed Digital versus Film Mammography in the Digital Mammographic Screening Trial (DMIST) of the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN). Doing so is one of Pisano's proudest accomplishments. Others are, she says, "Founding and leading the breast-imaging section at UNC for its first 15 years, building it from a very small part of radiology to a world-leading innovator where patients receive very high-quality and cutting-edge breast-cancer care in a multidisciplinary and collaborative environment. Also, my 25-year marriage to my husband, Jan Kylstra, and our four children." Collecting 7.43% of the top 10 votes, Pisano—who received her MD from Duke University School of Medicine (Durham, NC)—has several other studies on the table for which she is the principal investigator, including a look at multiple image reconstruction for breast-cancer imaging (ending 2010) and mammographic density and invasive breast cancer (ending 2007). "My future plans include, I hope, continued development and testing of new breast-imaging technologies," she says, "perhaps with new methodologies for technology assessments that are better, cheaper, and faster than what we do now, with the added goal of improved quality of care for our patients."
7) Carol H. Lee, MD
Professor of Diagnostic Radiology at Yale University School of Medicine (New Haven, Conn); and Attending Physician in the Department of Diagnostic Imaging at Yale-New Haven Hospital (New Haven, Conn)
As of this month, Lee has returned to her positions at Yale, having taken a 1-year sabbatical to work in private practice as the chief of breast imaging at the Kapiolani Breast Center (Honolulu). "In the course of my career, I have derived the most satisfaction from my relationship with my patients," says Lee, who received her MD from Yale in 1976 and collected 7.28% of the top 10 votes. "I also am very gratified to see former residents and fellows who I have helped train enter the field of breast imaging and pursue successful careers." Among her list of professional honors include being a 1998 fellow of the Society of Breast Imaging, and Lee recently was named head of the newly created Commission on Breast Imaging of the American College of Radiology. "I view this position as an exciting opportunity to truly advance the practice of breast imaging to benefit patients," she says, "and to support those of us who work in this field."
8) Nancy Elliott, MD, FACS
Founder and Director of Montclair Breast Center (Montclair, NJ)
A breast surgeon who started her practice in 1989 after completing a fellowship in breast disease at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (New Brunswick, NJ), Elliott is one of the inaugural members of the Medical Imaging Editorial Advisory Board, and she captured 5.88% of the top 10 votes. "I've created a center where women no longer fear breast cancer," she explains. "Montclair Breast Center is a comfortable and reassuring place where women happily come in for their prevention exam." Elliott is a pioneer in women's health; a mother of three; and an active member of the President's Council of the National Breast Cancer Coalition, the National Consortium of Breast Centers, and the American Society of Breast Surgeons. "I am grateful for the opportunity to highlight the need for risk assessment and quality breast imaging, which is required to detect breast cancer at its earliest stages," she says. "We need more dedicated breast imagers in this country to continue to chip away at the mortality rate. We can do better; there is room for improvement." For the future, Elliott plans to create a support group and educational series for women as well as write a newsletter for high-risk women detailing the research and new technologies that are available. She adds, "I also would like to do more teaching of residents and healthcare professionals about women at increased risk for breast cancer."
9) Katarzyna J. Macura, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Radiology at the Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore)
"It is quite exciting to know that my contributions to patients' care and research in women's imaging are being recognized by the vast readership of Medical Imaging," says Macura, who captured 4.95% of the top 10 votes. She received both her MD (1989) and her PhD (1991) from the Medical University of Lodz (Poland). "My work related to pelvic floor disorders in women, specifically MR imaging in stress urinary incontinence, has been recognized nationally and internationally by numerous awards," Macura says, including the 2005 Cum Laude Award for Scientific Presentation from the Society of Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance. "I have pioneered high-resolution MR imaging of the anatomy of female urethra and urethra-support structures responsible for maintenance of urinary continence, and I described defects that lead to incontinence that can be detected on MRI." She has participated in a wealth of CME courses by Johns Hopkins, with lectures focusing on MRI of the pelvis, and in training of more than 40 fellows in cross-sectional body imaging. Macura was recognized as an outstanding teacher in the Johns Hopkins diagnostic radiology residency program and received the 2005 Outstanding Teacher's Award. Coming up for Macura: "Continuation of my work on MR imaging in urinary incontinence in women and to conduct a prospective clinical trial to compare different imaging modalities in the assessment of patients with stress urinary incontinence."
10) Judy M. Destouet, MD, FACR (tie)
Chief of Mammography at Advanced Radiology (Baltimore)
In 1992, Destouet was recruited to head mammography for Advanced Radiology, which was performing about 25,000 exams each year. In 2005, the center performed more than 115,000 screening mammograms, and countless underinsured women can obtain free mammograms through state and county grants. "As you can imagine," she says, "we have discovered many cancers over the years and played a pivotal role in women's treatment options and, hopefully, their improved survival. The high-quality breast-imaging program that Advanced Radiology has developed serves as a model of efficiency for large screening programs." Named one of Baltimore's top physicians in 2005 by Baltimore magazine," Destouet—who garnered 4.64% of the top 10 votes—is the chairperson for the Mammography Accreditation Program of the American College of Radiology and was the 1994–'95 president of the American Association for Women Radiologists. She also is a consultant to the FDA's Obstetrics-Gynecology Devices Panel and Medical Devices Panel and is a grant reviewer for the National Institute of Health. In 2006 and under Destouet's leadership, Advanced Radiology will transition todigital mammography and continue to expand its breast-imaging services.
10) Jerry A. Thomas, MS, FAAPM, DABR, CHP, DABSNM (tie)
Diagnostic Medical Physicist/Radiation Safety Officer at Via Christi Regional Medical Center (Wichita, Kan)
"I'm very honored to have been named to MI's list of top women's imaging specialists," says Thomas, who nabbed 4.64% of the top 10 votes. "This was very unexpected and is indeed very gratifying to be so recognized." Thomas received his master's of science and PhD from the University of Kansas (Lawrence), and his dissertation topic for the latter was animal tumor model for the early detection of cancer using electron para-magnetic resonance to detect Cu+2 changes in ceruloplasmin. A 2005 fellow of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, Thomas was the April 2000 recipient of the GE Partners in Vision Award for Digital Mammography Research. His proudest accomplishments include 33 years of service in the US Navy's Medical Department, and, he says, "My current work in breast imaging has been quite rewarding. The most significant accomplishment in this area—working with GE Global Research—has been the development of the second-generation GE breast tomosynthesis imager. We are about to begin clinical trials on the imager. It is hoped that we can add to the knowledge base of this technology and demonstrate its utility in clinical practice."
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PACS/RIS/Radiology administrator
1) Neil D. Johnson, MD
Associate Director of clinical Radiology Informatics for Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
A pediatric radiologist who began leading his team to planning, justifying, and installing a PACS in 1997, Johnson collected 18.10% of the top 10 votes. "I am most honored by the magazine's recognition," he says. "I didn't know that your readers knew about our work here at Cincinnati Children's. I truly prefer to sit in the background most of the time and help others succeed, so this was a great surprise and honor." Originally trained at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Royal Children's Hospital (Melbourne, Australia), Johnson completed a pediatric radiology fellowship at Strong Memorial Hospital (Rochester, NY) and was formerly the medical director of HIS at Cincinnati Children's. In 2003, he took on his current role and helped to initiate and lead the early electronic clinical order entry project; in 2004, he led the first major US installation of GE Healthcare's Centricity RIS/voice recognition/PACS solution. "Team building, long-term vision, and leadership are my proudest achievements. I intensely dislike the narrow, self-focused, self-promotional, and individualistic behavior that is so common in academic institutions," Johnson says. "I am driven by the simple idea that change is inevitable, and we should, therefore, never neglect the opportunity to direct and lead change for the long-term good of the institution and the human patients we all serve."
2) James Philbin, PhD
Director of the Radiology Center for Information Systems at Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM of Baltimore)
A senior information technology (IT) executive, Philbin is responsible for all aspects of IT for the radiology department, including leading the JHM Filmless 2006 initiative that has the goal of virtually eliminating the use of film for radiology images by the end of this year. He also created the JHM Image Archive, which will eventually house medical images from almost all departments of JHM. "While this is a work in progress," Philbin says, "it will eventually provide the entire Hopkins Health System with fast online access to all DICOM medical images from a distributed, redundant archive. It is designed for both business continuity and disaster recovery, as all images are stored in two different locations seven miles apart." Philbin, who received 17.67% of the top 10 votes, is no stranger to this kind of undertaking. When he was working at the NEC Research Institute (Princeton, NJ) in the 1990s, he created one of the earliest large distributed computer clusters, which were located in Tokyo; Bonn, Germany; and Princeton, NJ. "The cluster was used for lots of research, including protein folding and programming language design," he says. "[I also was] part of the team that created and implemented the T programming language at Yale University in the 1980s." Despite Philbin's extensive list of accomplishments—including a PhD, master's, and bachelor's degree in computer science from Yale University (New Haven, Conn) and a host of patents in data-management and storage systems—he says of winning this award: "While I'm not sure I deserve the honor, it is quite flattering."
3) Mark J. Halsted, MD
Associate Professor of Radiology and Chief of the Radiology Informatics Core at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Nabbing 15.95% of the top 10 votes, Halsted led the design, development, and launch of a new paperless workflow system that the radiology department uses to drive its clinical workflow. "We are studying the clinical impact of this new system on the efficiency of our clinical operations, the frequency of interruptions we experience, patient satisfaction, and radiology staff stress and satisfaction indices," he notes. "Early data show that the system saves radiologists' time and reduces the frequency of interruptions to radiologists' workflow." Halsted received his MD from Yale University School of Medicine (New Haven, Conn), performed his diagnostic radiology residency at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center, and was both a clinical fellow in pediatric radiology and a pediatric neuroradiology fellow at Cincinnati Children's. "I'm also leading the development of a number of other new informatics tools designed to reduce medical errors, improve physicians' ability to recognize commonly missed diagnoses, follow up on interesting cases, and make sure that recommended follow-up exams are completed in a timely manner so that no patient slips through the cracks," he says. "In this field, the sky's the limit. I can only imagine what the landscape will look like in ten years. Given how much we've accomplished in a very short time, the future looks extremely promising."
4) Steven F. Fischer
CIO for the Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI of Minneapolis)
With 36 years of IT experience combined with 13 years working within healthcare facilities and provider groups, Fischer has a long list of accomplishments and an even longer list of current and future projects. "I am most proud of what CDI's RIS/PACS team, and CDI as an organization, have accomplished," he says, noting that in less than 3 years, the team chose a RIS and then converted 22 sites to it, including data migration and normalization from four different RIS solutions. "All this while opening ten new centers, which are both filmless and paperless. We've also rolled out our medical professionals' portals that provide Web access to diagnostic reports and images as well as patient status. These conversions were not easy, and they required dedication and patience from all involved." Fischer, who garnered 14.66% of the top 10 votes, is a member of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, the American Health Information Management Association, and the Health Information and Management Systems Society. Among the tasks coming up for Fischer include expanding CDI's newly redeveloped patient Web site and developing Web-based tools for referring physicians. "A 'pet' project," he says, "is working with the industry to establish a standard DICOM engine, which any clinical application could be layered over to eliminate the need for two, three, or four DICOM services to be running on a single workstation."
5) John Dolbinski (tie)
PACS Administrator at the Providence Alaska Medical Center (Anchorage)
Dolbinski, who collected 11.06% of the top 10 votes, has been with Providence Alaska Medical Center for 11 years and is a registered X-ray technologist. About winning this award, he says he is flattered. "It doesn't hurt to have your name [near] the top of the list," he says. Dolbinski has a bachelor's of science degree in business administration from North Dakota State University (Fargo) and an associate's degree in X-ray from the Oregon Institute of Technology (Klamath Falls). Among his proudest accomplishments: "Having the opportunity to install a PACS, and giving our clinicians the ability to view images through our facility, which enhances and expedites patient care." Up next for Dolbinski is moving the facility to a DR environment.
5) Hwa T. Kho, MBA, PhD (tie)
Director of Imaging Informatics at the UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles)
An inaugural member of the Medical Imaging Editorial Advisory Board, Kho scored 11.06% of the top 10 votes. "I am honored to receive this recognition, which I believe is a reflection of the strength and success of the UCLA PACS/RIS program," he says. "The credit goes to many people, including my Informatics colleagues for their hard work, to the users for their ideas and perseverance, and to management for their support." Kho, who recently led the implementation of a large enterprise-wide PACS at UCLA, has 12 years of experience in software development and the implementation of clinical information systems. "I am very proud that we are able to transform the conceptual benefits of PACS and RIS into real, measurable successes in improving patient care and financial bottom lines," he says. "I also am very proud of the in-house systems integration efforts that make some of these successes popular." In 2006, Kho will help to complete UCLA's voice-recognition rollout. "We also have begun a project, code name 'firefly,' that monitors workflows and communicates exceptions in real time to the responsible parties," he explains. "As systems grow more complex and time-sensitive, this will be a crucial tool."
6) Duk-Woo Ro, PhD
Associate Professor and Director of Radiology Informatics in the Department of Radiology at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals (MCVH) at Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond)
"The work I do is to make the PACS work at our institution, and I didn't really think much of it, as it is done routinely in many institutions," says Ro, who nabbed 8.91% of the top 10 votes. "I am surprised (mostly!) but honored to be recognized by colleagues in the field." He has been with MCVH since 2001; previously, he was in the Imaging Science and Information Systems Center of Georgetown University (Washington) and the PACS director of the Samsung Medical Center (Seoul, Korea). At the latter, Ro implemented the first filmless hospital in Korea, which performed about 500,000 studies each year. Ro received his PhD in bioengineering in 1990 from the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) with a doctoral dissertation on iterative data refinement of MR images. In 2001, he implemented a telemedicine network for the State Department for the US embassy clinics in Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Fort Lauderdale, and Washington. He adds, "I also implemented an open system PACS [at MCVH] which has all 26 million images on RAID-5 spinning disks ever since the hospital went filmless in 2002."
7) Daniel K. Knepper
Senior Information Resources Manager of Clinical Information Services – Information Resources at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas)
"It is a great honor and privilege to be looked upon so favorably by my colleagues," says Knepper, who admits his surprise at the recognition. "There are certainly more technical and more published people than myself in this field." But Knepper has a healthy list of accomplishments under his belt, including 18 years of healthcare IT experience; "Overview of PACS at UT Southwestern," presented at the Radiological Society of North America 2003 meeting; and achieving the President's Club Award for 3 successive years during his tenure at IDX Systems Corp (Burlington, Vt). "I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish from a workflow and integration perspective," he says. "Unlike the new generation of RIS/PACS from a sole vendor, we are working with legacy technology involving disparate databases and vendors. Through creative means, we have been able to provide functionality and access to information very close to that of a single RIS/PACS." For the future, Knepper hopes to broaden his experience even further, as he recently began managing the laboratory and pharmacy information systems in addition to RIS/PACS. "One thing that I have gained out of this is that once solid processes are in place for a system, they usually can be applied to others with minor adaptation," he says. "Ultimately, my goal is to move into a CIO position."
8) Daniel N. Ariola, RT(R)(CT)
Lead CT Technologist and RIS/PACS Administrator for Quantum Imaging & Therapeutic Associates Inc (Lewisberry, Pa)
No one tells Ariola's story better than him. "When I was hired in August 2003, we started from scratch," he says. "It was Quantum's first RIS/PACS. Many of the personnel needed extensive training in order to use the system. I had a very brief introduction to the system before I had to return and train other staff members. I am eternally grateful for their patience and understanding during that intense time. Today, we have a wonderful staff of well-trained, qualified professionals who use the RIS/PACS with minimal guidance." Ariola has an associate's degree in radiologic technology from the University of Hawaii/Kapiolani Community College (Honolulu) and has extensive CT experience. For the future, Ariola says, "I would like to see another Quantum site open up so that we can expand our service area and provide quality care to patients. With the help of the RIS/PACS, we can provide that care with efficiency to surrounding facilities. I hope to be one of the main players in this expansion."
9) Fernis LeBlanc, Jr, RT(R)(QM)(CT)
PACS Administrator at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center (Thibodaux, La)
"To be recognized by my peers, in my opinion, is the highest form of flattery and achievement," LeBlanc says. "In a field that has so many highly regarded individuals and accomplished professionals, it makes me feel extremely proud to be included among the elite. I am honored and proud to be recognized in this way." LeBlanc was part of the team at TRMC that implemented a PACS from the very beginning, and it has been a success. "It wasn't easy taking a fully analog department to a fully digital one practically overnight," he says. "It has been a lot of work and stress, but it has paid off many times over, because the end result is a great PACS implementation that ultimately benefits the most important people: the patients." LeBlanc has been with TRMC since 2002. His future plans include moving the department to a paperless environment.
10) Rick Strohl
PACS Administrator at PinnacleHealth System (Harrisburg, Pa)
An employee of PinnacleHealth since 1999, Strohl recently helped with the implementation of PACS, which, he says, was a very smooth process—thanks to support from his colleagues and the vendors. He also successfully migrated the RIS to a new server and upgraded the software. "This was a major undertaking for the information systems and radiology departments that went extremely well with very few issues," Strohl says, noting that he loves his job and works with a great group of people. "Being recognized by the readers of a respected industry publication like Medical Imaging truly is an honor," he adds. On the horizon for Strohl is integrating voice-recognition software into reading stations and implementing a paperless workflow. "We also are beginning the rollout of PACS in the operating room at two of our hospitals," he says, "which will complete our conversion from film to filmless."
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Association/Trade Show/CME Event/Imaging-Related Educational Program
1) Radiological Society of North America (RSNA of Oak Brook, Ill)
www.rsna.org • 30.8% of the top 10 votes
"The RSNA is pleased to be ranked as the top radiology association," says George S. Bisset III, MD, the RSNA liaison-designate for education. "The organization has a proud heritage since its founding 90 years ago. There always has been a commitment to providing members with state-of-the-art science and educational offerings. Annually, we strive to also offer the attendees at our meeting—the largest medical meeting in the world—a look at cutting-edge technology from hundreds of vendors worldwide. We appreciate the readers of Medical Imaging for recognizing our efforts in these areas." The association has 38,000 members, including radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and related scientists committed to promoting excellence in radiology and related sciences. According to Bisset, future plans for the RSNA include "investigating the role of medical simulation in education and training of radiologists. We are getting ready—at the request of the membership—to add a second annual meeting in the early spring of 2007, which will focus exclusively on an educational mission, using some of the best offerings from the annual meeting. Many other ideas are in the early phase of discussion, and they should keep the RSNA at the top of the heap when it comes to radiology science and education."
2) American College of Radiology (ACR of Reston, Va)
www.acr.org • 18.97% of the top 10 votes
One of the largest specialty organizations in the world, the ACR has 32,000 members nationwide and has been in existence for more than 75 years. "Education is one of the pillars of our mission at the ACR," says James P. Borgstede, MD, FACR, chair of the ACR Board of Chancellors. "We are always striving to find new, better, and more efficient ways to ensure that radiologists have access to the most recent information regarding our professions. I want to thank the readers for taking time to vote in this process. It helps us know what we are doing right and how we can improve the services that we offer." One of the ACR's special committees is RADPAC, a political action committee (PAC) that is a key force in advancing radiology's legislative agenda on Capitol Hill; it is the nation's second-largest medical specialty PAC and the fifth-largest professional PAC. "Now more than ever," Borgstede says, "it is of vital importance to make sure that our elected leaders are aware of the issues that affect radiology and the American healthcare system as a whole, as they make important policy decisions that affect us all." A new service from the ACR includes eRADPEER, an electronic version of RADPEER that allows physicians to submit scores and acquire reports through the Internet. "I urge Medical Imaging readers to check out the ACR Web site often to find out what the College is doing on behalf of the profession and to provide feedback on these efforts," he says. "I also want to ask them to take part in their local ACR chapters. After all, the ACR was created by and for radiology professionals. We are all in this together."
3) American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT of Albuquerque, NM)
www.asrt.org • 11.38% of the top 10 votes
Founded in 1920, the ASRT now represents more than 120,000 professionals who work in medical imaging and radiation therapy. Its mission is to provide radiology technologists with the knowledge, tools, and resources they need to improve patient care. "It is an honor to receive this recognition from Medical Imaging and its readers," says ASRT President Cathy Parsons, RT(R)(M) (QM), FASRT. "The ASRT is a top association because of its members, so the real credit should go to them. ASRT members have an incredible amount of dedication and commitment for their profession. Technologists join the ASRT because they want to improve themselves personally and because they want to be a part of a community working to improve their profession." The ASRT, in turn, tries to improve its members' lives with such benefits as tracking members' CME credits and automatically transferring that information to the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, as well as providing members with free online access to the society's journal, Radiologic Technology. "In 2006, the ASRT will wrap up a three-year research project called ASRT FutureScan," Parsons says. "The goal is to identify factors that will influence the delivery of radiologic technology during the next five to 20 years. Through FutureScan, the ASRT will better understand the trends that shape the healthcare industry and then help radiologic technologists prepare for those trends."
4) American Healthcare Radiology Administrators (AHRA of Sudbury, Mass)
www.ahraonline.org • 8.28% of the top 10 votes
The AHRA, an association of about 4,000 managers in imaging sciences, provides the information, education, and networking opportunities needed to succeed in today's changing healthcare environment. The AHRA is a resource and catalyst for the development of professional leadership in imaging sciences. Through the efforts of hundreds of active volunteers, the AHRA brings information about the most current and complex topics to its members and interested others. The AHRA hosts events, including an annual meeting this July, and a series of audio Web conferences throughout the year.
5) Society for Computer Applications in Radiology (SCAR of Great Falls, Va)
www.scarnet.org • 7.59% of the top 10 votes
In 2005, SCAR celebrated its 25th anniversary and its status as the longest-serving organization for imaging practitioners interested in the current and future use of computers in medical imaging. "We are greatly honored to be so highly thought of among so many prestigious organizations, and that the readership of Medical Imaging understands and appreciates the educational and informational goals and values that SCAR pursues," says SCAR Chairman Richard L. Morin, PhD. "We are pleased that the direction SCAR has taken is in concert with the desires of our members and those who are involved in activities related to medical imaging." In 2006, SCAR will continue its work with Transforming the Radiological Interpretation Process (TRIP), which has a goal of solving the image-overload problem, as well as a program to develop a certification for informatics administrators. "Many of our members are working on the cutting edge of imaging and image informatics and eagerly share their experiences and knowledge with other members," Morin says. "It is the unbiased access to the latest developments that our members find so valuable."
6) Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM of Reston, Va)
interactive.snm.org • 5.29% of the top 10 votes
An international scientific and professional organization of more than 16,000 members, the SNM was founded more than 50 years ago. "The SNM continues to publish the most prominent peer-reviewed resource in the field of nuclear/molecular imaging, the Journal of Nuclear Medicine," says SNM President Peter S. Conti, MD, PhD. "[The society] hosts the premier annual meeting in the field; trains physicians, technologists, scientists, chemists, and radiopharmacists in state-of-the-art imaging procedures and advances; provides essential resources for healthcare practitioners and patients; and sponsors research grants, fellowships, and awards." The SNM has developed a Molecular Imaging Center of Excellence, a PET Center of Excellence, and a Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment Program. "Medicine, science, and the world in which we live are constantly changing—and at a pace that appears to increase every year," says SNM CEO Virginia Pappas, CAE. "The SNM continually prepares for the changes that are coming by developing new programs and services. For example, the molecular-imaging revolution will lead to a much greater ability to characterize diseases, diagnose them at a very early stage, treat them effectively, and monitor the effectiveness of such treatment. The SNM is taking a leading role in promoting research, education, and applications of molecular imaging and nuclear medicine."
7) Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR of Fairfax, Va)
www.sirweb.org • 4.83% of the top 10 votes
A national organization of 4,300 physicians, scientists, and allied health professional dedicated to improving public health through disease management and minimally invasive, image-guided therapeutic interventions, SIR was established in 1973. "We are pleased to see that our passion for our work and our attention to the needs of our members is evident to those familiar with SIR," says SIR President Curtis A. Lewis, MD, MBA. "As an organization, we are dedicated to the specialty as a whole—not just interventional radiologists. For medical students and residents, we offer scholarships, grants, and free registration to all of our educational programs. For mid-levels, physician extenders, and our physician members, we provide the tools to help grow their practice, such as clinical practice guidelines, training, patient materials, a coding guide, research grants, a monthly journal, and a voice on Capitol Hill." In the past decade, SIR's membership has increased 42%, and Lewis attributes it to doing one thing—interventional radiology—and doing it well. "We focus on one thing that matters to our members," he says. "CME for it. Coding for it. Training for it. Standards for it. Marketing for it. The future of it."
8) American Cancer Society (ACS of Atlanta)
www.cancer.org • 4.48% of the top 10 votes
Founded in 1913, the ACS has 13 regional divisions and local offices in 3,400 communities across the United States. "The Society has a long tradition of providing science-based guidelines related to cancer screening for medical professionals who specialize in imaging and to the public," says Stephen F. Sener, MD, immediate past president of the ACS. "In particular, the Society has vigorously promoted mammography as the cornerstone of today's strategy to reduce deaths from breast cancer, and the imaging community can feel duly proud of its role in the significant reductions in breast cancer mortality that have occurred since 1990." The ACS is a community-based voluntary health organization that, through research, education, advocacy, and service, is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. "We are a presence and resource in every community in this country," Sener says, "and generations have come to rely on the Society for information, support, guidance, and as a beacon of hope in the fight against cancer."
9) Society of Breast Imaging (SBI of Reston, Va)
www.sbi-online.org • 4.25% of the top 10 votes
Founded in 1985, the SBI initially was composed of "fellows" invited to join by virtue of recognized contributions to the field of breast imaging. In 1990, there were 75 such fellows, and a decision was made to open up a General membership category so that the SBI could both serve and represent the larger constituency of those with dedicated interest in the field. Requirements for General membership include certification by the American Board of Radiology or the American Osteopathic Board of Radiology and an active interest in breast imaging. Based on benchmarks of scholarship and service, general members may apply to be fellows, of which there are now 107, including 15 in the Emeritus category and 6 honorary ones. In 1995, an Affiliate membership category was established for registered radiologic technologists, which now number more than 115. The SBI holds biannual postgraduate courses, the next of which takes place April 14–17, 2007, in Hollywood, Fla.
10) American College of Cardiology (ACC of Bethesda, Md)
www.acc.org • 4.14% of the top 10 votes
Chartered and incorporated as a teaching institution in 1949, the ACC represents more than 32,000 heart specialists worldwide. Its mission is to advocate for quality cardiovascular care—through education, research promotion, and the development and application of standards and guidelines—and to influence healthcare policy. Recently, the ACC released "Appropriateness Criteria for SPECT MPI" to answer the questions of who, when, why, and how often to perform medical-imaging tests. In the coming months, the ACC will release additional "Appropriateness Criteria" to address other imaging procedures.
is editor of Medical Imaging.
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