The Section of Thoracic Radiology is responsible for the interpretation of all chest radiographs, chest CT and chest MR.  This includes over 40,000 chest x-rays and 8,000 CT’s per year.  Chest radiographs are all obtained digitally with either computed or digital radiography allowing for rapid transmission of images to the section even at off-site imaging centers.  CT exams are performed on 16, 64-slice and dual source MDCT scanners with the ability to retrospectively obtain thin sections through suspicious abnormalities.  Each request is individually tailored to the specific question asked by the ordering physician. It is our belief that for the majority of indications, intravenous contrast is not necessary for interpretation.  Therefore, we only give intravenous contrast when we believe it is necessary to obtain a correct diagnosis (evaluation for pulmonary embolism, aortic disease, and hilar masses).  Intravenous contrast is generally given when the exam is combined with other body parts (the neck or abdomen). 3-D workstations include TerraRecon, Vital Images and GE workstations which are used to produce multi-planar and 3-D images when clinically necessary and nodule volumes can be obtained using the GE Advanced Lung Analysis package to more accurate measure nodule size and assess growth.  MR imaging is used primarily as a problem solving tool.  Examples include the evaluation of the chest wall in mesothelioma and other neoplasms and evaluation of ectopic parathyroid adenomas.  All images are read via the AGFA PACS system and reported using voice recognition software so that final reports are available the same day.