November 8 marks the International Day of Radiology. Radiology is a field of medicine that uses a variety of advanced imaging modalities, such as ultrasound, CT and MRI, to take detailed pictures of the inner workings of the human body. The field has progressed exponentially over the past few decades, as healthcare professionals are now able to use medical imaging to both diagnose and treat hundreds of diseases all over the body.

Radiologists Dr. Sean Kennedy and Dr. Stephen Nash from Humber River Health have shared insight into their role and the vitality of radiology in the healthcare system.

Dr. Sean Kennedy
Dr. Sean Kennedy is a diagnostic interventional radiologist who has been at Humber for the past 1.5 years.

What are the responsibilities in your role?
As a radiologist, I spend much of my time interpreting imaging tests such as MRIs and CT scans and conveying diagnoses to other physicians to help them provide their patients with the care they need. In this capacity, I must carefully and meticulously look through each image obtained for a given diagnostic test to ensure an accurate diagnosis is made. I also use advanced imaging guidance to perform a wide array of minimally invasive procedures to both diagnose and treat patients. For example, in a given day, I may place a dialysis line to help a renal failure patient initiate treatment, biopsy a lung mass to diagnose cancer, perform a radiofrequency ablation to destroy a kidney tumor and perform an embolization procedure to stop a major bleed in the bowel.

Dr. Stephen Nash
Dr. Stephen Nash is a staff radiologist in the medical imaging department, who has been at Humber since 2005.

What are the responsibilities in your role?
My role is to view the images obtained with the imaging modalities including x-ray, ultrasound, CT, MRI, and mammography. I look for abnormalities, provide the interpretation and report of what is found, and consult on the appropriate treatment and follow-up for the patients.

How do you feel radiology plays a vital role to our patients and healthcare system?
Dr. Kennedy: Radiology plays a critical role to our patients and healthcare system as a whole. If you require medical care in any healthcare setting, there is a very good chance you will require some form of medical imaging to assess for the presence or absence of a given disease. Countless medical decisions made in any hospital on a daily basis rely in large part on rapid and reliable access to medical imaging and an accurate radiologist interpretation. At Humber, I have had the privilege of working with a fantastic group of talented radiologists, technologists, sonographers, nurses and other healthcare workers in the medical imaging department to provide radiology services to our patients.

Dr. Nash: Radiologists provide the patient’s doctor with an “inside view” of the patient to allow the referring physician to determine the best course of treatment. Radiologists also use imaging to guide biopsies of lesions to send for pathologic analysis.