Body Imaging has an opening for 2013-2014. Please contact us at fellowbi@uw.edu for application forms and more information.

Overview:

The Department of Diagnostic Radiology at the University of Washington offers a one-year fellowship training program in body imaging which includes diagnostic ultrasound, computed body tomography and MR.  The program, which began in 1979, is designed to provide balanced, in-depth experience in all aspects of body imaging for individuals who have completed formal residency training in diagnostic radiology.  Up to eight fellows are accepted each year.

Our faculty has extensive experience in body imaging, and are widely published and recognized at local, national, and international levels.

ACGME accreditation provides both the prospective fellow and his/her prospective employer with guarantees of the quality and quantity of the educational experience provided. The University of Washington offers the only ACGME-accredited abdominal/body imaging fellowship program on the West Coast. 

Facilities and Equipment:

At the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC), there is a state-of-the-art ultrasound department with ten imaging suites performing approximately 1000 exams per month.  Thirty percent are obstetrical patients and the remainder are general medical and surgical patients including liver, kidney and pancreas transplants as well as neonates.  The CT section has four GE helical 64 slice CT scanners with a caseload of 1600 body examinations a month.  UWMC operates a 3.0 and 1.5 T Phillips 16 channel MR for clinical imaging and performs approximately 100 body cases per month including 2 to 3 cardiac MRs per day.

Update: A new addition, doubling the size of the UWMC Radiology area, has just opened.

The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) is a new outpatient cancer care center established in collaboration between the University of Washington Medical Center and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.  The facility houses a 3.0T Philips MR scanner with dual transmit technology, a 1.5T GE Excite 8 channel MR scanner, a GE helical CT scanner and one ultrasound unit.

Harborview Medical Center is the sole Level 1 trauma center for the Seattle area, as well as for the states of Wyoming, Alaska, Idaho, and Montana.  Imaging facilities at Harborview consist of 3 GE 16 slice CT scanners, A 3.0T Siemens Trio MR unit, a 1.5T Siemens Avanto MR scanner, a 1.5T GE LX MR scanner, and four state-of-the-art ultrasound units.  A brand new 128 slice multidetector CT unit will also be installed this year.

The Seattle Veterans Administration Hospital performs a wide variety of imaging studies using a Picker helical CT scanner, a Philips 1.5T Gyroscan II magnet, and two state-of-the-art Siemens ultrasound units.

The University of Washington also provides professional service at the Roosevelt outpatient center.  This center, 10 minutes from the University of Washington, currently performs ultrasound, CT, and MR.

In addition to these clinical facilities, the University of Washington has an established Diagnostic Imaging Science Center dedicated to research, which includes positron emission tomography, MR, ultrasound, and computer resources. Their research laboratory has a 3.0 T Phillips MR, as well as 2.0 T and 4.7 T small bore research magnets.

All studies are interpreted on PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System), and post-processing is performed on the GE AW and Vital Images workstations.  State of the art voice recognition (Commisure, GE-RIS) is used for study dictation.

Rotations:

Each fellow will have rotations through various modalities at each of our facilities. In addition to more traditional diagnostic cross-sectional body imaging (CT, MR, and ultrasound), fellows receive training in cardiac CT and MR, high-risk obstetric ultrasound and image guided biopsy procedures.  Additional training in other image-guided interventional procedures, fluid and abscess drainages, and percutaneous tumor ablative therapy (ethanol injections and radiofrequency ablation) are available.  Fellows will attend and present at several tumor boards and conferences during their various rotations.  The following rotations are mandatory:

Body MR, CT and procedures rotations at UWMC

Fellows on these 2 rotations will interpret MR and CT exams of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis with attending radiologists in the section.  Experience will also be gained in more specialized CT techniques including CT angiography, CT colonography and CT coronary angiography.  Fellows will be involved in a variety of MR studies including abdominal and pelvic imaging and vascular MR.  UWMC has a busy solid organ transplant service as well as multiple subspecialty services that refer a wide variety of complex patients to our department.  Fellows will also be responsible for CT/MR protocols as well as for using the workstations to create both MR and CT 3D reconstructions.  

Biopsies are performed by the fellows under direct supervision of the section attendings in their procedures rotation. During the fellow's rotation in procedures, the fellow will perform biopsies, learn to interpret complex studies under the guidance of the attending, and improve upon her or his scanning skills.

Ultrasound (including high-risk OB and transplant) at UWMC

Fellows on this rotation will learn to scan with the sonographers and will be oriented to Doppler ultrasound, fetal biometry, and basic ultrasound protocols and procedures. UWMC has a large transplant load serving the surrounding 4 states and the fellow will get significant experience in evaluating liver, renal and pancreas transplants. A large number of complex Obstetric cases are also sent to UWMC and the fellow will be involved in interpretation of these exams. By the end of this rotation, the fellows should be capable of running the service on their own.

CT/MR/US at Harborview

During rotations at HMC, fellows will receive additional ultrasound training in obstetrical and gynecologic ultrasound, as well as abdominal, thyroid, and scrotal ultrasound.  In addition, fellows gain experience in interpretation of body CT and MR with an emphasis on trauma and indigent patients from high-risk populations.  Fellows will participate in image-guided biopsies as well.

CT/MR/US at Seattle Veteran's Administration Hospital

The VAMC rotation offers CT instruction in oncology staging and diagnosis and general body CT.  MRI focuses on musculoskeletal, abdominal, and MR angiography.  The fellow will also receive training in general abdominal and scrotal ultrasound.  Fellows will be responsible for protocols and consulting with clinicians.

CT/MR/US at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

This rotation offers extensive training in abdominal imaging oncology cases for CT, MR, and ultrasound.  The emphasis is on staging and treatment of cancer and learning appropriate radiologic workup of a variety of cancers.  The SCCA has an active bone marrow transplant service, and fellows will gain experience in image evaluation of BMT patients including bone marrow MRI.

Research:

Each fellow will participate in at least one research project during the academic year.  This project can be in the area of CT, MR or US and will be under the guidance of one of the section faculty members.  A wide variety of research projects are available in each area, including basic science and small animal laboratory work as well as clinical projects.  This project is expected to culminate in at least one scientific paper.  In addition, all fellows will be expected to give lectures to the radiology residents and to submit two interesting case reports while on each CT and MR rotation.

Call:

Fellows take call in weekday and weekend blocks.  On-call fellows are in-house on weekends until the day's work is completed or until noon whichever is later and on pager call at all other times.  On-call responsibilities include consulting with the on-call residents as needed, interpreting after-hours cases and emergent cases performed from 8 am to noon on weekends and reading out overnight cases.  Fellows are responsible for emergent body CT and ultrasound cases at UWMC and HMC.  Our PACS system currently allows for viewing of studies via the Internet, so cases can often be viewed from home using cable modem or DSL connections.

Contact Information:

Ms. Marie Moffitt

Fellowship Director: Jean Hwa Lee, MD

Applications:

We accept applications from graduates of residency programs in the US, Canada, the UK, and the EU. We occasionally make an exception for an unusually qualified candidate from another country's program, but these exceptions are rare. We provide J1 visas to foreign medical graduates.

We are currently accepting applications for 2013 - 2014 Academic Year. We have an unexpected opening for 2012-2013.

While our faculty will be happy to chat with you about our program at meetings and conferences, we conduct formal interviews only in Seattle, at the University of Washington and its affiliated institutions.

Please contact us at fellowbi@uw.edu for our application form and Clinical Experience Questionnaire. 

A completed application for a Body Imaging fellowship at the University of Washington includes:

1.   Completed Application Form and Clinical Experience Questionnaire (provided on request).

2.   A current CV.

3.   A brief personal statement, no longer than one page, addressing your interest in body imaging and your career plans.

4.   Copies of your USMLE (Parts 1, 2, and 3), LMCC, or FLEX scores, your medical school diploma, and, if you have already completed your residency, your residency certificate and proof of board certification.

5.   If you are a foreign medical graduate, we also require a copy of your ECFMG certificate.

6.   Three letters of reference, of which one should be from the director of your residency program. The writers of the letters should send them to us at the address below.