Philip Costello, M.D., F.A.C.R. Professor and Chairman Department of Radiology

The Department of Radiology and Radiological Science is an academic department within the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. Our department has a long tradition of excellence in both clinical and educational activities. We are guided by the mission of MUSC to maintain excellence in education, research and service.

The department has state-of-the-art advanced imaging equipment ranging from conventional radiography to dual source multi-detector CT, PET/CT, 3 Tesla large bore MRI and digital mammography. We offer a wide array of advanced image guided procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of diseases including occlusion of cerebral and abdominal aneurysms, uterine artery embolisation and radiofrequency tumor ablation.

Our main hospital department cares for adult and pediatric patients with a focus on neurosciences, oncology and orthopedics. In 2008 both the Heart and Vascular and Digestive Disease centers moved into a new diagnostic and therapeutic building, the Ashley River Tower, with 156 patient care beds. Imaging and therapeutics in this facility emphasize cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases. Our nationally recognized faculty of 35 radiologists and basic scientists are subspecialty trained experts in all fields of radiology. The department is organized by organ systems permitting our radiologists to serve as important members of the subspecialty care team. Through participation in interdisciplinary clinical conferences, our staff facilitates the appropriate utilization of imaging studies and interventional procedures.

Our clinical radiology faculty consists of 28 full-time and 2 part-time members.  Additionally, we have 5 Instructor level fellowship positions, including musculoskeletal, breast imaging, body MR, cardiac imaging, neuroradiology, and neurointerventional radiology. We also have a total of 8 American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) approved fellowships in nuclear medicine (2); diagnostic neuroradiology (2); and vascular interventional radiology (4). In 2007 we added a radiology assistant to our program that assists our staff radiologists with a variety of studies. MUSC radiology offers 8 highly sought after residency positions each year.

The department has a strong commitment to clinical and translational research. Our research faculty includes 5 PhD's of whom three are clinical scientists and two basic scientists. Our research programs are expanding rapidly in cardiac imaging, lung cancer evaluation and neurosciences. We are committed to the continued development and expansion of radiological science research to surpass the boundaries of current health care. We strive to develop new knowledge through technology application and innovative approaches to patient care. 

Our longstanding tradition of excellence extends into the clinical setting. We excel in many areas of patient care with nationally and internationally recognized programs in interventional, vascular radiology and cardiopulmonary imaging. Our top priorities include improving patient care and access to our imaging department whilst providing high quality services to our referring physicians. We strive to develop new knowledge through technology application and innovative approaches to patient care.