Thoracic (chest) imaging represents a substantial portion of the clinical work provided by the Department of Radiology at the University of Michigan Health System. Our Division oversees more than 90,000 standard chest radiographs and 8,000 chest CT examinations annually, which are read and interpreted by board-certified, fellowship-trained experts who specialize in this type of radiology.
Our Specialties
- Stent placement
- Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (used when the blocked artery is one that supplies blood to the body)
- Arterial embolization (selective blocking of arteries to cut off blood flow to tumor cells)
- Vascular occlusion Inferior vena cava filter placement (a filter implanted to prevent fatal pulmonary embolism)
Our studies and protocols make sure our patients receive the lowest dose of radiation required for their study. And, having the very latest equipment allows for studies to be done quicker, which also lowers radiation exposure. In fact, we are part of the Advanced Cardiac Imaging Consortium, a statewide project to lower doses of radiation for heart CT angiography, without compromising image quality.
We are 100% digital, which means we are more efficient, can provide faster turnaround time getting reports back to physicians, and all medical personnel have access to the images. And we work closely with the Cardiovascular Center, supporting all their programs.
Clinical programs within our Division are comprehensive. We are equipped with cutting-edge technology and the newest imaging applications are frequently introduced and studied for effectiveness by division faculty members. For example, in addition to standard CT studies of the lungs for infection and cancer, high-resolution CT studies of the lungs for diagnosis and evaluation of treatment effectiveness for diffuse lung disease (a group of disorders causing progressive scarring of lung tissue) are now routine.