 | Philip Costello, M.D., F.A.C.R.
Professor and Chairman
Department of Radiology
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The Medical University of South Carolina Department of Radiology has a long tradition of excellence in both clinical and educational activities. Many radiologists practicing in the state of South Carolina and the Southeastern U.S. completed their residency or fellowship training at MUSC.
I feel privileged to lead MUSC Radiology into the 21st century, undoubtedly the most exciting era for our specialty. Our department’s vision and goals are to become one of the best medium-sized academic radiology programs in the U.S. We already excel in many areas of patient care and research, with nationally and internationally recognized programs in interventional, vascular radiology, and cardiopulmonary imaging. Our department to state-of-the-art imaging equipment, boasting 4, 1.5 T and 1, 3T magnets; CT scanners to include 2 Dual Source CT scanners, 2, 64-slice CT scanners, and 2, 16-slice scanners; 1 PET-CT, and a fully integrated PACS environment. Mammography is fully digital and includes CAD, ultrasound, and interventional services in a single location.
In the February of 2008 we opened our new hospital. The new facility provides major service lines consisting of the MUSC Heart and Vascular Center, and MUSC Digestive Disease Center. The diagnostic and treatment building and patient hospitality tower represent an expansion of more than 641,000 gross square feet in clinical and support space.
Ashley River Tower is home to the MUSC Heart and Vascular Center, MUSC Digestive Disease Center and MUSC Surgical Oncology. Key clinical components include: 156 beds for cardiovascular and digestive disease services (including 32 ICU beds and 22 designed specifically for bariatric patients) Nine state-of-the-art operating rooms with integrated information technology systems and specialized equipment for vascular surgery Outpatient clinics to accomodate more than 100,000 visits Specialied area providing immediate care to patients with chest pain or other emergent cardiovascular symptoms Dedicated spaces for academic and care management teams throughout the facilty Flexible design to allow for future advances in technology and treatment modalities
Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. was chosen to provide imaging equipment to include: Four interventional/diagnostic catheterization labs Three interventional radiology labs (one equipped with interventional CT) Imaging includes two flluoroscopy rooms and two ultrasound rooms, one Dual Source CT scanner and one 64-slice CT scanner, one diagnostic MRI, and three SPECT/CT nuclear cameras
Our nationally recognized faculty of 34 radiologists and basic scientists are subspecialty trained in all areas of imaging. By participating 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, 5 Instructor level fellowship positions are offered, including musculoskeletal, breast imaging, body MR, cardiac imaging, neuroradiology, and neurointerventional radiology. We offer at total of 8 ACGME approved fellowships in nuclear medicine (2); diagnostic neuroradiology (2); and vascular interventional radiology (4). Our research faculty includes 4 PhD's of whom two are clinical scientists and two basic scientists. This year we added to our faculty our first trained Radiology Assistant. Our research programs are rapidly expanding in cardiac imaging, lung cancer evaluation, ultrasound, and nuclear medicine. A research budget of almost $1.4 million is projected for 2006-2007 from a variety of industrial and federal sources. To accomplish our goals, we encourage creativity and innovation. We strive to develop new knowledge through technology application and new approaches to patient care. We are committed to train future radiologists who will practice in both clinical and academic environments. Our top priorities include improving patient care and access to our imaging department whilst providing high quality services to our referring physicians.
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