New remote imaging technology available at UCLA offers patients and referring physicians greater access and improved scheduling flexibility for diagnostic cardiovascular imaging services.
UCLA radiologists and Siemens Medical Solutions have jointly developed software that enables imaging experts at UCLA hospitals in Westwood and Santa Monica to use a computer via a secure Internet connection to operate a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine at a remote location to conduct these high-demand imaging studies.
A UCLA study (Finn JP, Saleh R, Thesen S, Ruehm SG, Lee MH, Grinstead J, Child JS, Laub G. MR Imaging with remote control: feasibility study in cardiovascular disease. Radiology. 2006 November; 241(3); 528-537) found that remote scans performed by a specialized operator were superior in both definition and quality to on-site scans performed by a less experienced operator. The study involved such highly demanding scans as those of children and infants born with heart disorders. Although most relevant for complex MRI studies, the technology can also be applied to computed tomography (CT).
UCLA Diagnostic Cardiovascular Imaging services
The Diagnostic Cardiovascular Imaging Section of the UCLA Department of Radiology offers noninvasive diagnostic imaging procedures using state-of-the-art MRI and CT technology.
Due to the unique patient mix at both the Mattel Children’s Hospital and the Ahmanson UCLA Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center, UCLA physicians image a wide range of highly complex congenital cardiovascular disorders in both children and adults. Services include full cardiac functional studies and vascular studies of all areas, including the coronary, carotid, thoracic and abdominal regions; the pelvis and extremities.
The equipment base includes the flagship Siemens 32-channel MRI scanners and Siemens Dual Source (128-slice) CT scanners at both the Westwood and Santa Monica campuses.
In 2006, the Westwood campus became the first medical center on the West Coast to install a cutting-edge Siemens dual-source CT scanner, the fastest system on the market, for advanced non-invasive coronary artery imaging. The equipment allows radiologists to image the beating heart with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. Integrated technology reduces the patient’s radiation exposure.
Physicians
J. Paul Finn, M.D.
Professor of Radiology
Chief, Diagnostic Cardiovascular
Imaging Director, Magnetic Resonance Research
Stefan Ruehm, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Radiology
Margaret Lee, M.D.
Associate Professor, Radiology
Mayil Krishnam, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Radiology
Patient referral
Physicians may refer patients to UCLA Diagnostic Cardiovascular Imaging by phone at (310) 301-6800 or by fax at (310) 794-9035. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.radsci.rad.ucla.edu:8080/dcvi/html/main.html
