Patient Care

“The best part about being a nurse practitioner is connecting with patients,” says Stacy Wong, an Interventional Radiology nurse practitioner (NP) at UCSF Mount Zion.
As the end of the year approaches, we like to take a deep breath of the chill air and think of all the things we are thankful for here at UCSF.
Jesse Huang is always smiling.
Toriana Lomax Truong, patient care coordinator for the UCSF HHT Center of Excellence, presented three posters at the 15th HHT International Scientific Conference, in Mandelieu-la-Napoule, France.
This Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month, we’re proud to recognize the extraordinary skill and expertise of our sonographers.
Vanitha Sankaranarayanan stood in awe, dressed head-to-toe in sterile scrubs, in the operating room.
To streamline patient care and foster collaboration, the UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and the Emergency Department (ED) have developed a new communication dashboard within Epic, UCSF’s electronic health record system.
Taking a child to the hospital for a suspected urinary problem can be stressful for everyone.
“UCSF takes MRI safety very seriously.
As Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) Awareness Month unfolds, the UC San Francisco (UCSF) Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging is pleased to highlight Torianna Lomax Truong, MS, a patient care coordinator for the UCSF HHT Center of Excellence.
Cross-training technologists in new imaging modalities is one way that UCSF Health promotes career advancement while also increasing the efficiency of our radiology operations.
For more than 40 years, volunteer radiologists have been valued and expert members of our academic community.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), plays a pivotal role in healthcare, determining treatment paths and eligibility for procedures like hip or knee replacements.
March marks Brain Injury Awareness Month, which is dedicated to prevention and advancements in care and research.
On Wednesday March 14, the radiology team at Mount Zion Hospital celebrated the reopening of MRI Zone 3 room after a comprehensive space refresh.
On Certified Nurses Day, March 19, we say thank you to all the dedicated Radiology nurses for your commitment to excellence in patient care.
Maryana was over-the-moon to be a mom for the first time when she learned she was pregnant in May 2022.
Last week, Mark Wilson, MD, was caring for a patient in Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, when he happened to look up and notice that everyone on the interventional radiology team was Black.
In pediatric imaging, anesthesia is commonly thought to be necessary for obtaining high-quality diagnostic imaging, but an innovative program at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is challenging that idea.
The resumption of in-patient care at Mount Zion Hospital in 2020 after many years as an outpatient site presented an opportunity for imaging expansion.
On July 1, 2022, UCSF and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG) established a new Emergency Radiology section to provide after-hours faculty coverage for imaging exams conducted between 5 pm and midnight.
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common manifestation of cardiovascular disease and the most common cause of mortality in the U.
With funding from the National Institutes for Health, the Hyperpolarized MRI Technology Resource Center (HMTRC) develops and disseminates hyperpolarized (HP) 13C MR techniques and instrumentation, specialized data acquisition methodology and analysis software for biomedical research.
In September 2021, Kevin Tuckman, a 48-year-old sales manager, was doing a demo for a potential client in Foster City when he started having difficulty talking.
The Peripheral Nerve Center at UCSF is comprised of a multidisciplinary team devoted to precisely assessing and addressing often painful and difficult-to-diagnose conditions of the peripheral nervous system.
When 53-year-old photographer and single mom Pia Navales went to the Berkeley Outpatient Center for her annual mammogram in December 2021, she had no reason to suspect any problems.
UCSF Radiology & Biomedical Imaging strives to ensure patient safety in all our imaging modalities, and this includes providing patients with the highest level of MR safety.
"We often create 3D models of patients with congenital heart disease to assist our surgical colleagues in planning their surgical approaches and interventions," says Maya Vella, MD a cardiothoracic radiologist at UCSF.
We are excited to celebrate National Radiologic Technology Week (NRTW) and all the technologists at UC San Francisco (UCSF) aiming to heal through their tireless work.
According to Christopher Hess, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, speed in treatment is critical for patients suffering from a stroke.
Each May, we recognize the many contributions that nurses make to society.
The success of this UCSF IT and Radiology collaboration is an excellent example of how technology enables the UCSF mission: advancing health worldwide.
March is National Kidney Month, a time to raise awareness and focus on research and building paths for better kidney care.
This post was authored by Cynthia Hammond, MBA – Quality and Safety Officer at UCSF Health, Radiology.
The primary purpose of lung cancer screening is to analyze the high-risk patient population to catch signs of cancer early.
February is Heart Health Month, an important reminder for everyone to take control of their heart health.
Breakthrough viral infection - when a fully vaccinated person gets infected with COVID-19 – seem to be more common with the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
The American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) recently published their ACC/AHA Chest Pain Guidelines.
Happy Radiologic Technology Week (NRTW) to the outstanding technologists at UCSF Radiology.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, hospitals and health systems cancelled or delayed elective procedures, including screening mammograms.
  The UCSF Multidisciplinary Approach to the Placenta Service (MAPS) plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of pregnancies complicated by placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorders.
Alzheimer's disease is pathologically defined as abnormal accumulation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain, leading to degeneration of nerve cells, memory problems, cognitive decline, and dementia.
June is HHT Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), a genetic disorder affecting the blood vessels.
Nurses Week is celebrated here at UC San Francisco and globally from May 6 through May 12, 2021.
The Ovarian-Adnexal Reporting and Data System (O-RADS) is a recent addition to the American College of Radiology (ACR) reporting and data systems and consists of both ultrasound (US) and MRI arms.
3D printing technology has been around for about 40 years.
Patient Safety Awareness Week is a recognition event held each March, intended to highlight the importance of healthcare safety for our patients.
The UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging is pleased to announce that Robin Ippisch, PhD has accepted the position of Director of the UCSF Radiopharmaceutical Facility (cyclotron).
Matthew Bucknor, MD's interest in focused ultrasound developed during his radiology residency at UCSF when Fergus Coakley, MD (former faculty and current chair of radiology at Oregon Health Sciences University) brought the technology here.
The UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging noted a significant milestone for both the department and the UCSF Center for Intelligent Imaging (ci2) - full deployment of an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled portable x-ray device into our clinical environment.
2020 was historic and challenging! Years from now, we expect that history books will depict and analyze the pandemic and COVID-19, racial reckonings, political unrest and transition.
As 2020 draws to a close, the UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging launched a gratitude campaign (#UCSFRadGrateful) posted on our social media from December 14 through 31, 2020.
Uncertainty around diagnostic testing for the coronavirus has been a dilemma for clinicians throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thank you to all UCSF Medical Center Radiology staff – you are the essential workers who continue to provide essential services during this time.
Development of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to more widespread use in healthcare, including radiology.
Research has shown that better cancer survival outcomes derive from improvements in prevention, screening, treatment and follow-up care.
Each October, Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month (MUAM) is a time to create awareness around the role of the diagnostic medical sonographer in the medical community, the many uses of medical ultrasound in health care and the increased recognition of ultrasound as a vital medical tool.
Prostate artery embolization (PAE) is a minimally-invasive therapy offered at UCSF by interventional radiology physicians to patients suffering from severe symptoms of prostate enlargement, otherwise known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
Each September, the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Women in Medicine (WIM) Month serves to showcase the accomplishments of women physicians, highlight advocacy related to women physicians and bring light to health issues that impact women patients.
“When I get concerned calls or texts from my family and friends, I tell them that I actually feel safest at the hospital,” says Heather Greenwood, MD, breast imaging radiologist and faculty in the UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exams use a strong magnet to take pictures of internal organs and tissues.
Hepatitis B virus infection is a worldwide health problem and is particularly prevalent in the San Francisco Bay Area.
UC San Francisco is the only JCAHO Comprehensive Stroke Center in San Francisco.
We are in the middle of celebrating Nurses Week here at the UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging.
Wednesday, May 6, is National Nurses Day and marks the beginning of National Nurses Week.
Nursing in radiology, the profession that I love, has always been a complex job.
1952 - 2020 Marcia J.
Patient navigators are becoming familiar faces in hospitals across the country.
For women in particular, cardiac MRI helps achieve diagnosis and further guide management of treatment in patients with heart disease.
Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) or cardiac MRI is a medical imaging technology that provides a noninvasive diagnostic assessment of the cardiovascular system.
At some point in our lives, most of us have experienced some kind of unexplained sound deep in our ear, and most of the time, it stops after a little while.
This month, UCSF Medical Center announced that patients can now see radiographic studies including X-rays, MRIs, CT scans and some ultrasounds on MyChart.
Varicose veins are common condition involving swollen, twisted veins that you can see just under the surface of the skin.
When it comes to medical care, many factors can determine the types of treatment and medications that are available to patients.
A year ago, long-time San Franciscan and hospitality entrepreneur Chip Conley received a shocking diagnosis.
With over 15 of experience in radiology, and as an internationally-recognized expert in the use of imaging for the detection and treatment of genitourinary diseases such as prostate cancer, Antonio Westphalen, MD considers the role radiologists play in overall patient care significant.
At UCSF Radiology, interventional radiologists use minimally invasive procedures as surgical alternatives for treatment of varicose veins.
I want to take this opportunity to recognize and thank everyone within the UCSF Health Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Department for the care you provide to our patients and each other!  In recognition of our amazing team, banners and posters will be visible on campus to represent National Radiologic Technologist Week so that everyone can join us in celebrating our dedication and achievements.
In September, UCSF Radiology hosted a Live Twitter chat on prostate cancer - advances in diagnosis and treatment and what the community wants to know.
Earlier this month, Mathew Knowles, the father and former manager of Beyoncé and Solange, announced that he received treatment for breast cancer.
This post was authored by Elizabeth Fernandez, senior public information representative with UCSF News.
Last month, the UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging cohosted an event with the Department of Urology that gathered an elite group of experts on prostate health to join in conversation with an engaged and interested audience.
The past decade has seen a number of new molecular diagnostic and therapeutic imaging agents enter clinical practice, especially in oncology, cardiology, and the neurosciences.
On Sunday, October 27, 2019, a team from UCSF Radiology will walk in support of breast care programs at Zuckerberg San Francisco General (ZSFG).
Two UCSF Radiology team members, Ricky Ng, RT, radiologic technologist and Gerard Phillips, interventional radiology nurse, were acknowledged with PRIDE Awards at the fifth annual UCSF Health Evening of Honors & Awards on August 21.
The UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging would like to extend a warm welcome to our talented incoming faculty members.
Risk-based factors for risk-based breast cancer screening including family history, race, age, prior breast biopsy, and breast density have not been evaluated in routine screening mammography practice.
A chest computed tomography (CT) scan finds a lung nodule; what is the significance of that? Brett Elicker, MD, chief of Cardiac & Pulmonary Imaging at the UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging spoke about this topic as part of the UCSF Osher Mini Medical School lecture series.
The UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging would like to announce the appointment of Christopher Laubenthal, MBA, as the new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, effective July 15, 2019.
Author:  Laurel Skurko, Marketing Director, UCSF Radiology and Biomedical Imaging The UCSF Radiology marketing team is grateful to Bay Area referrers who have provided their feedback regarding customer service needs and communications preferences throughout the past four years.
In 2017, construction began on the six-story, 170,000-square-foot UCSF Bakar Precision Cancer Medicine Building (PCMB) on UC San Francisco's Mission Bay campus, situated within steps of the UCSF Bakar Cancer Hospital and the Mission Bay research building for the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (HDFCC).
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), also known as prostatic enlargement, is a common condition in aging men.
Author:  Laurel Skurko, Marketing Director, UCSF Radiology and Biomedical Imaging In April, UCSF Radiology hosted our first Live Twitter chat on diagnosing and treating hereditary cancers alongside the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (HDFCC) and its Center for BRCA Research.
This week is National Nurses Week, started by the American Nurses Association to celebrate and elevate the nursing profession.
Overall, many people are unaware of the importance of osteoporosis screening and preventive measures that can be taken.
Digital breast tomosynthesis, also known as DBT, is a further evolution of digital mammography in which a series of low-dose projection images of the breast are obtained at different angles.
In the past, the UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging has teamed up with the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and its Center for BRCA Research for panel discussions offering valuable insights on diagnosing and treating hereditary cancers.
The UCSF CT International Dose Registry, created to broaden patients' protection from excessive radiation, is expanding this year thanks to new funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Thermography, also known as thermal imaging, uses a special camera to produce images, known as thermograms, showing patterns of heat and blood flow near or on the surface of the body.
Alastair Martin, PhD, has been appointed as associate chair for capital projects for the UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging.
Christine Glastonbury, MD, has been appointed as vice chair for academic affairs for the UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging.
Recent studies have supported a recommendation by the UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging that annual mammography screening start at age 40 for women of low or average risk.
Preventive imaging exams are designed to detect cancer and noncancerous health conditions in their early stages, when diseases are more treatable and curable.
In July 2017, UCSF Radiology broke ground on the largest-ever expansion of the Parnassus facility with new reception and holding areas.
Author:  Laurel Skurko, Marketing Director, UCSF Radiology and Biomedical Imaging When Alisa Brozinsky was just 34 years old, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Author:  Laurel Skurko, Marketing Director, UCSF Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Ginger Conejero was living the dream.
A landmark mammography study has found that women who receive annual breast cancer screenings will have a lower mortality rate and will benefit more from therapy upon diagnosis of breast cancer.
UCSF Radiology is excited to announce that our Interventional Radiology Clinic at UCSF Health Parnassus campus now has a new home.
Author:  Laurel Skurko, Marketing Director, UCSF Radiology and Biomedical Imaging A cancer diagnosis can be terrifying news.
It is with sadness that we share the news of the passing of our former Chairman and friend.
Colorectal cancer screening is an “in-the-news” topic, as the American Cancer Society (ACS) now recommends that people of average risk should start regular screening at age 45, rather than age 50.
Continued improvements in PET/CT systems can lead to increased diagnostic accuracy and specificity, along with enhanced image quality, better treatment planning and more efficient workflows.
The CT Lung Cancer Screening Program at the UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging uses radiology tools to detect lung cancer in at-risk patients at its earliest stage, when the disease is potentially more treatable and curable.
Author:  Laurel Skurko, Marketing Director, UCSF Radiology and Biomedical Imaging It started with dizziness.
Interventional radiology physicians at UCSF, including Ryan Kohlbrenner, MD, now offer an alternative to prostate surgery—prostate artery embolization (PAE).
Interventional Radiology physicians at UCSF, including Maureen Kohi, MD, chief of Intervential Radiology, offers minimally invasive image-guided procedures (MIIPs) to treat uterine fibroids.
Author:  Laurel Skurko, Marketing Director, UCSF Radiology and Biomedical Imaging “My husband rarely complains,” said Jane McCarty, and it’s easy to believe.
Author:  Laurel Skurko, Marketing Director, UCSF Radiology and Biomedical Imaging It started with a small but persistent noise in her right ear.
Our latest research, published in the January 2016 edition of American Journal of Roentgenology, suggests that there is room for improvement by radiologists when it comes to managing patients in accordance to established BI-RADS categories for breast MRI exams.
Author:  Laurel Skurko, Marketing Director, UCSF Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Michael Johnson doesn’t mess around.
When you are referred by your doctor to undergo an MRI examination, it’s natural to wonder about the effects this will have on your body, how useful the results of the examination will be in charting the course of your care, and how the procedure might or might not go as planned, or as you hoped or expected.
The San Francisco VA has taken care of me from head to toe.
Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA or DEXA) is a means of measuring bone density, but a recent article in the Wall Street Journal is highlighting another way in which the imaging exam can be used to benefit your health.
When most people think of breast imaging, they immediately think of mammography.
The following article was written by Ronald Zagoria, MD, FACR, Professor and Chief of Abdominal Imaging in the UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging.
The following article was written by Mark Mamlouk, MD, clinical instructor and chief fellow in neuroradiology at UCSF.
New UCSF research, performed jointly with Massachusetts General Hospital, confirms that computed tomographic colonography (CTC) administered without laxatives is as accurate as standard colonoscopy in detecting polyps that are clinically significant and potentially cancerous.
(Last updated January 13, 2021) The answer to which imaging modality is better for imaging the brain is dependent on the purpose of the examination.

At the Heart of Health Care: Nurse Practitioners

This Nurse Practitioner Week, we’re proud to spotlight the vital role of Radiology's nurse practitioners who are essential to the care of patients having diagnostic and interventional procedures.

Messages from the Gratitude Tree

At Parnassus, we painted a canvas for people to leave words of thanks to the many members of our radiology team. These are a few of the wonderful words left on our Gratitude Tree.

A Smile is Sometimes the Best Medicine

“It’s really hard not to be smiling all the time,” says Jesse Huang, a Practice Coordinator at UCSF Health who greets patients with a warm smile and welcoming vibes.

Care Coordinators Advocate for HHT

Patient care coordinator Tori Lomax Truong attended the HHT International Scientific Conference to present posters and showcase the importance of care coordinators in the treatment of this disorder.

Celebrating Our Sonographers: Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month

This Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month, we proudly recognize the extraordinary skill and expertise of our sonographers. 

Vanitha Sankaranarayanan Gives Her All, Benefiting Surgeons in the Operating Room

Vanitha Sankaranarayanan stood in awe, in the operating room, as she observed as a neurosurgeon perform brain surgery guided by critical information from a diffusion tenser imaging (DTI) brain scan – the type of image she creates – illuminating the brain’s essential motor pathways and where they were in relation to the tumor. “It was inspiring to see that what I am doing is crucial,” says Sankaranarayanan, an image analysis and visualization lead at UCSF’s 3D Lab. She observed this surgery shortly after she joined the lab in 2009, and it has influenced her work ever since.

A New Epic Dashboard Enhances Radiology & Emergency Department Collaboration

The UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and the Emergency Department (ED) have developed a new communication dashboard within Epic, UCSF’s electronic health record system, allowing efficient communication between care teams.

A New Ultrasound Procedure Increases Safety and Comfort for Pediatric Patients

At UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in Mission Bay and Oakland, radiologists are now offering a new, more comfortable, and radiation-free imaging method called pediatric Contrast-enhanced voiding urosonography (ceVUS).

MRI Safety Week: 3 Tips for Patients, Improved Signage, and More

“UCSF takes MRI Safety very seriously. It is a priority,” says MRI Safety Officer and MRI Supervisor Christina L. Calvin. This MRI Safety Week, July 21-27, Calvin spotlights the three most important things patients need to know.

Raising Awareness for Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) at UCSF

Torianna Lomax Truong, MS, makes a trip to Washington DC to raise awareness about HHT. Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) is a genetic disorder characterized by abnormal blood vessel growth.

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