Thomas Joseph Vogl (born 17 May 1958, Munich) is a German radiologist. He is a professor for radiography at the University of Frankfurt and director of the Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at the University Hospital Frankfurt/Main. Vogl's work is in the fields of interventional oncology, vascular procedures, multidetector computed tomography (MDCT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), evaluation of contrast agent and MR-guided procedures.
In 1993 Vogl was appointed professor for general radiology at the Charité, Berlin. He was approved as neuroradiologist and became visiting professor at the Jinan University in China in 1996. In 1998 he was appointed professor for general radiation diagnostics at the University of Frankfurt/Main. There he leads the Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology since 1998. He was visiting professor at the University of Charleston. Since 2005 Vogl is deputy medical director of the Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at the University Hospital Frankfurt/Main. He is its clinical chairman. [1]
Vogl's scientific focal points are interventional oncology, vascular procedures, ablative procedures such as laser-induced thermotherapy (LITT), ablation (MWA), radiofrequency ablation (RFA), multidetector computed tomography (MDCT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), evaluation of contrast agent, MR-guided procedures [2] With patented practices of new procedures of laser induced thermotherapy and technique of chemoembolization (TACE) Vogl introduced new procedures for interventional radiology. Actually he also deals with multiple sclerosis, aiming a new therapy with „Ballooning“. [2]
Vogl's experimental treatments, especially chemoembolization, have attracted many patients from abroad, pushing a Canadian health authority to emphasize that "there is no available evidence about the efficiency of chemoembolization to support its recommendation instead of systemic chemotherapy" [3] and Quebec Health Minister Gaétan Barrette to accuse him of "selling hope". [4]
Vogl admitted working closely with the Hallwang Clinic, [5] a controversial institution known for selling unproven and ineffective therapies alongside more conventional cancer treatments.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves to generate images of the organs in the body. MRI does not involve X-rays or the use of ionizing radiation, which distinguishes it from computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans. MRI is a medical application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) which can also be used for imaging in other NMR applications, such as NMR spectroscopy.
Radiology is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography, but today it includes all imaging modalities, including those that use no electromagnetic radiation, as well as others that do, such as computed tomography (CT), fluoroscopy, and nuclear medicine including positron emission tomography (PET). Interventional radiology is the performance of usually minimally invasive medical procedures with the guidance of imaging technologies such as those mentioned above.
Medical physics deals with the application of the concepts and methods of physics to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases with a specific goal of improving human health and well-being. Since 2008, medical physics has been included as a health profession according to International Standard Classification of Occupation of the International Labour Organization.
Medical imaging is the technique and process of imaging the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual representation of the function of some organs or tissues (physiology). Medical imaging seeks to reveal internal structures hidden by the skin and bones, as well as to diagnose and treat disease. Medical imaging also establishes a database of normal anatomy and physiology to make it possible to identify abnormalities. Although imaging of removed organs and tissues can be performed for medical reasons, such procedures are usually considered part of pathology instead of medical imaging.
Interventional radiology (IR) is a medical specialty that performs various minimally-invasive procedures using medical imaging guidance, such as x-ray fluoroscopy, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or ultrasound. IR performs both diagnostic and therapeutic procedures through very small incisions or body orifices. Diagnostic IR procedures are those intended to help make a diagnosis or guide further medical treatment, and include image-guided biopsy of a tumor or injection of an imaging contrast agent into a hollow structure, such as a blood vessel or a duct. By contrast, therapeutic IR procedures provide direct treatment—they include catheter-based medicine delivery, medical device placement, and angioplasty of narrowed structures.
Lipiodol, also known as ethiodized oil, is a poppyseed oil used by injection as a radio-opaque contrast agent that is used to outline structures in radiological investigations. It is used in chemoembolization applications as a contrast agent in follow-up imaging. Lipiodol is also used in lymphangiography, the imaging of the lymphatic system. It has an additional use in gastric variceal obliteration as a dilutant that does not affect polymerization of cyanoacrylate.
The American College of Radiology (ACR), founded in 1923, is a professional medical society representing nearly 40,000 diagnostic radiologists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians and medical physicists.
A medical procedure is a course of action intended to achieve a result in the delivery of healthcare.
Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT), also known as transarterial radioembolization (TARE), radioembolization or intra-arterial microbrachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy used in interventional radiology to treat cancer. It is generally for selected patients with surgically unresectable cancers, especially hepatocellular carcinoma or metastasis to the liver. The treatment involves injecting tiny microspheres of radioactive material into the arteries that supply the tumor, where the spheres lodge in the small vessels of the tumor. Because this treatment combines radiotherapy with embolization, it is also called radioembolization. The chemotherapeutic analogue is called chemoembolization, of which transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the usual form.
Cone beam computed tomography is a medical imaging technique consisting of X-ray computed tomography where the X-rays are divergent, forming a cone.
A urogenital pelvic malignancy is a regional lymph node involvement in urogenital malignancies is a significant radiologic finding, with important implications for treatment and prognosis. Male urogenital pelvic cancers commonly spread to iliopelvic or retroperitoneal lymph nodes by following pathways of normal lymphatic drainage from the pelvic organs. The most likely pathway of nodal spread depends on the tumour location in the prostate, penis, testes, or bladder and whether surgery or other therapy has disrupted normal lymphatic drainage from the tumour site; knowledge of both factors is needed for accurate disease staging. At present, lymph node status is most often assessed with standard anatomic imaging techniques such as multidetector computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, the detection of nodal disease with these techniques is reliant on lymph node size and morphological characteristics, criteria that provide limited diagnostic specificity. Functional imaging techniques, such as diffusion-weighted MRI performed with or without a lymphotropic contrast agent and positron emission tomography, may allow a more accurate nodal assessment based on molecular or physiologic activity.
OPS, the Operationen- und Prozedurenschlüssel is the German modification of the International Classification of Procedures in Medicine (ICPM). For German hospitals it is currently the official coding system for medical procedures. Apart from its use for clinical controlling and performance statistics it is a basis for inpatient claims processing within the German Diagnosis-related Groups (G-DRG) system. Yearly OPS releases are produced by DIMDI. Besides OPS, G-DRG also requires disease codes based on ICD-10-GM is.
Computed tomography of the head uses a series of X-rays in a CT scan of the head taken from many different directions; the resulting data is transformed into a series of cross sections of the brain using a computer program. CT images of the head are used to investigate and diagnose brain injuries and other neurological conditions, as well as other conditions involving the skull or sinuses; it used to guide some brain surgery procedures as well. CT scans expose the person getting them to ionizing radiation which has a risk of eventually causing cancer; some people have allergic reactions to contrast agents that are used in some CT procedures.
Cerebral atherosclerosis is a type of atherosclerosis where build-up of plaque in the blood vessels of the brain occurs. Some of the main components of the plaques are connective tissue, extracellular matrix, including collagen, proteoglycans, fibronectin, and elastic fibers; crystalline cholesterol, cholesteryl esters, and phospholipids; cells such as monocyte derived macrophages, T-lymphocytes, and smooth muscle cells. The plaque that builds up can lead to further complications such as stroke, as the plaque disrupts blood flow within the intracranial arterioles. This causes the downstream sections of the brain that would normally be supplied by the blocked artery to suffer from ischemia. Diagnosis of the disease is normally done through imaging technology such as angiograms or magnetic resonance imaging. The risk of cerebral atherosclerosis and its associated diseases appears to increase with increasing age; however there are numerous factors that can be controlled in attempt to lessen risk.
Ferenc Andras Jolesz was a Hungarian-American physician and scientist best known for his research on image guided therapy, the process by which information derived from diagnostic imaging is used to improve the localization and targeting of diseased tissue to monitor and control treatment during surgical and interventional procedures. He pioneered the field of Magnetic Resonance Imaging-guided interventions and introduced of a variety of new medical procedures based on novel combinations of imaging and therapy delivery.
Interventional oncology is a subspecialty field of interventional radiology that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and cancer-related problems using targeted minimally invasive procedures performed under image guidance. Interventional oncology has developed to a separate pillar of modern oncology and it employs X-ray, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to help guide miniaturized instruments to allow targeted and precise treatment of solid tumours located in various organs of the human body, including but not limited to the liver, kidneys, lungs, and bones. Interventional oncology treatments are routinely carried out by interventional radiologists in appropriate settings and facilities.
In medicine, breast imaging is a sub-speciality of diagnostic radiology that involves imaging of the breasts for screening or diagnostic purposes. There are various methods of breast imaging using a variety of technologies as described in detail below. Traditional screening and diagnostic mammography uses x-ray technology and has been the mainstay of breast imaging for many decades. Breast tomosynthesis is a relatively new digital x-ray mammography technique that produces multiple image slices of the breast similar to, but distinct from, computed tomography (CT). Xeromammography and galactography are somewhat outdated technologies that also use x-ray technology and are now used infrequently in the detection of breast cancer. Breast ultrasound is another technology employed in diagnosis and screening that can help differentiate between fluid filled and solid lesions, an important factor to determine if a lesion may be cancerous. Breast MRI is a technology typically reserved for high-risk patients and patients recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Lastly, scintimammography is used in a subgroup of patients who have abnormal mammograms or whose screening is not reliable on the basis of using traditional mammography or ultrasound.
Medical imaging in pregnancy may be indicated because of pregnancy complications, intercurrent diseases or routine prenatal care.
Brian Worthington was the first radiologist to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and is acknowledged as a pioneer in clinical magnetic resonance imaging. He was born in Oldham, England and was educated at Hulme Grammar School, training at Guy's Hospital after graduating in physiology and medicine. After graduation his career developed rapidly, particularly in the field of MRI research and he was subsequently admitted as a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists.
Theranostics, also known as theragnostics, is an emerging field in precision medicine that combines diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to provide the potential for personalized treatment and real-time monitoring of the effectiveness of treatments. Improvements in imaging techniques and targeted therapies are the basis of the field of theranostics. For some conditions, medical imaging has enabled non-invasive visualization of disease processes, identification of specific molecular targets, and monitoring treatment response. When medical imaging is coupled with the development of novel radiotracers and contrast agents, theranostics may provide opportunities for precise diagnosis and targeted therapy.