The division of neuroradiology provides a strong foundation in neuroimaging for residents, preparing them to excel as physicians. GW's resident-centered program offers a wide variety of experiences, encompassing a spectrum of pathologies such as trauma, oncology, infection and stroke.
During the first year, residents complete two one-month-long neuroradiology rotations. The objectives of these rotations are for the residents to become familiar with the CNS anatomy and to gain a basic understanding of the uses and interpretation of CT, CT angiography, MRI, and MR angiography.
Residents have graduated responsibilities, beginning by focusing on CT of the head, spine, and neck. During the second month, the residents progress to the MRI of the brain and spine, fine-tune their search patterns, and hone their differential diagnoses. In subsequent rotations, residents continue to improve their diagnostic skills in CT and MRI of the brain and spine, become familiar with more complex studies such as MRI of the head and neck, and explore advanced imaging of the brain and neck. During these rotations, the residents act more autonomously and generate reports for the studies they preview before reading out their cases with an attending. The residents can also begin to draw correlations across modalities. For instance, comparisons can be made between carotid ultrasound to CTA or MRA of the neck, neonatal cranial ultrasound with infant brain MRI and SPECT/CT of the brain with MRI of the adult brain. Residents can also complete a pediatric neuroradiology rotation at Children's National Health System.
The faculty members take pleasure and pride in providing an informative and engaging educational experience to the trainees. Weekly neuroradiology resident/fellow conferences are provided on Tuesdays at noon. These conferences follow a one-year curriculum. The content of these mostly didactic sessions is designed to not only meet the residents’ graduation requirements but to also foster a broad understanding of topics pertaining to neuroradiology. Hundreds of PACS-based teaching files are available for the residents to review independently and/or with an attending. Those interested in pursuing a career in neuroradiology are encouraged to attend the multiple interdisciplinary conferences in which the division participates.
Multiple faculty members within the section are actively involved in various research projects. A list of 2013 publications offers insight into the diverse set of topics explored by faculty members and the trainees. Explore faculty members’ areas of interest.
Mini-Fellowship
We offer a mini-fellowship to those residents interested in gaining more experience and medical knowledge in the field of neuroradiology. In addition to becoming more familiar with routine CT and MRI examinations, these residents can participate in more advanced imaging of the brain as well as head and neck such as functional MRI, diffusion tensor tractography, quantitative MR for seizure and dementia evaluation, CSF flow imaging, MR spectroscopy, arterial spin labeling perfusion, and dynamic contrast enhanced MRI. Those interested in procedures can perform fluoroscopically guided lumbar puncture, myleograms, and cisternograms under the supervision of an attending.
Residents participating in this mini-fellowship are required to compose an hour-long presentation in which they explore a specific topic of interest; the topic and the content of these presentations are typically developed through a collaboration between a trainee and a faculty member. These presentations can often be submitted as an abstract to a national/regional meeting and/or to a manuscript for publication.