MDNews - San Antonio

Radiology in Athletics IN A DDITION TO serving everyday patients coming in for routine screenings, specialists with South Texas Radiology Imaging Centers (STRIC) frequently work with athletes, from NBA stars to high school football players, who are recovering from sports-related injuries. In fact, according to James Gilley, MD, a musculoskeletal radiology specialist at STRIC, former Medical Director of STRIC and former Vice President of South Texas Radiology Group, STRIC's musculoskeletal radiology specialists can often be found on the sidelines of the local professional and college football and basket- ball games. "Some of these professional athletes take a lot of abuse to their bodies, but their livelihoods rely on their ability to stay in the game," Dr. Gilley says. "As a result, it is important for them to have access to imaging reviewed by radiologists with musculoskeletal expertise, as well as advanced therapeutic interventions. For instance, a common service we provide to many of our elite athletes in conjunction with the sports medicine physicians is the injection of platelet-rich plasma, which helps accelerate the healing of a muscle tear." STRIC offers a variety of interventional procedures to reduce pain and promote healing. breast biopsy ser vices in a n outpatient set t i n g. Ha r vey G oldst ei n , M D, is a brea st a nd body radiolog y specia list, a nd he sta r ted the stereotactic breast b i o p s y p r o g r a m i n S a n A n t o n i o . Breast biopsy is a minima lly invasive procedure per formed under ima g ing g uida nce, a nd t he removed tissue is then sent off to patholog y for diagnosis." MAINTAINING THE EDGE STRIC continues the legacy of offering patients access to the latest technology. STRIC's Northwest Imaging Center loca- tion houses the Siemens SOM ATOM Definition Flash, a dual source CT scan- ner with 256 detectors that is capable of sca nning t he entire hea r t w it hin five heartbeats. In 70–80% of patients receiving coronary CT angiography, the exam is performed without the need for beta blockers to slow down the heart. Th is saves ti me for t he patient a nd provides excellent images with a radia- tion dose-lowering technique. STRIC just recently insta lled five open-bore Siemens MAGNETOM MRIs — the first insta llation in the countr y with this new technology. Aside from offering an array of high- tech imaging modalities, STRIC focuses heavily on its women's imaging program. "We identify over 1,000 breast cancers a year through our mammography pro- gram," Woodard says. "The development of the Boutique Mammography Center concept was designed to offer screening mammography in a spa-like environment, with little to no wait time for busy ladies who spend their time caring for others rather than themselves. We hope to make a n other wise unpleasa nt exa m more desirable and encourage women to not skip this important annual screening." S T R I C o f f e r s d i g i t a l b r e a s t tomosynthesis equipment at its mam- mography locations. THE FUTURE OF STRIC Twenty years after inception, STRIC has no intention of slowing down. The orga- nization plans to gradually expand into more communities in the San Antonio and surrounding areas and continue to develop more ways of improving the accuracy and turnaround time of its services. O ne of t hose w ay s , a c c ord i n g t o Dr. Golden, involves the use of advance augmented intelligence (AI). "AI is going to play a larger interpreta- tive role in radiology," Dr. Golden says. "Some of the AI tools can help radiologists identify small changes that are almost impossible to see with the na ked eye. Additionally, as AI improves, these tools will be able to make more strategic, per- sonalized recommendations based on the patient's medical history." "At its core, radiology is an information technology business," Dr. Golden says. "This means that the future of radiology is interwoven with the future of technology in order to provide the highest level of care and the correct diagnosis for the patient. All of this advancement in technolog y is about improving the level of care and getting the right diagnosis the first time to help clinicians make important clinical care decisions that impact the patients and their families." For more information about STR IC, visit stric.com or call 210 -575- 6703 . n 0 8❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R S T O R Y

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