Radiological Sciences

Mission

The Division of Radiological Sciences houses the medical physics faculty of the University of Colorado Department of Radiology. Members provide clinical imaging support, engage in educational activities and perform imaging research within the University of Colorado School of Medicine at the Anschutz Medical Campus and in collaboration with our partners, affiliates, industry and national organizations.

Patient Care

Regulatory compliance, education and quality improvement support is provided for University of Colorado Hospital (UCH), Children’s Hospital Colorado, Highlands Ranch Hospital radiologic imaging facilities including diagnostic imaging, mammography, fluoroscopy, interventional and cardiovascular procedure suites, nuclear medicine, computed tomography and ultrasound. Members also participate in implementation and review of informatics activities within UCH. Active QI initiatives include:

• Patient dose management, reporting and education
• Optimization and standardization of imaging protocols
• Accurate and efficient reporting of quantitative image data

Education

Members of the division provide basic radiological and imaging physics instruction for residents, medical students, technologists, sonographers and members of the bioengineering graduate program. In addition, they mentor graduate students and other faculty on the best use of imaging resources for research.

Research

Research in the division covers a wide range of interests including image formation, image quality, quantitative analysis, dose measurement and radiation policy. In addition to their own research, members provide collaborative support for local, national and international clinical and basic research projects. They support the research efforts of CURIC and CCTSI. Examples of research activities include:

• ACR CT Dose Index Project
• NLST CT Quality Control
• Analysis and quantitation of CT and MR images for clinical and research trials through the Quantitative Image Analysis Laboratory (QIA)
• Accurate fMRI statistical maps of memory activation in Alzheimer’s disease
• Development of MRS based measures of GABA concentration
• Comparison of RECIST measures with new PET/CT biomarkers of tumor response to therapy