Cardiothoracic Imaging Clinical Division Research
Thoracic CT to Interstitial Lung Disease
Our research is focused on developing new diagnostic and advanced cardio and thoracic imaging capabilities for assessing diseases of the heart, vessels and lungs, and for evaluating the efficacy of therapies used to treat those disorders. Work in these areas is ongoing and will impact our clinical practice. This will benefit patients as well as the physicians who refer them to UCSF imaging services from the outside community or from inside UCSF itself.
Cardiovascular Research
Our UCSF cardiovascular research interest group is led by Karen G. Ordovas, MD, and David Saloner, PhD, who is professor in residence at the Vascular Imaging Research Center, in collaboration with renowned radiologists, cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons and basic scientists from UCSF. The group is developing state-of-the-art imaging methods for diagnosis of multiple cardiovascular disease processes. For a full description, see Cardiovascular Imaging RIG. Some of the current research projects are:
- CT angiographic assessment of coronary disease after heart transplantation
- Use of cardiac CT for pre-surgical clearance before heart surgery
- Evaluation of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with HIV infection
- CT assessment of the heart after stem cell therapy
- Quantitative assessment of function in congenital heart disease
- Characterization of myocardial ischemic injury by contrast-enhanced MRI
- Development of the concept of endovascular therapy using MRI guidance
- Clinical outcomes following negative CT for acute pulmonary embolism
- Determination of velocity fields in characterizing valvular and vascular disorders
