Excellence in Imaging
Advancing patient care with precision and compassion
Advancing patient care with precision and compassion
To schedule an appointment with an IU School of Medicine radiologist, contact Indiana University Health at (888) 484-3258 or find a doctor online.
At the downtown Academic Health Center, which encompasses University, Riley and Methodist Hospitals, the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences offers treatments that may not be found elsewhere in the state of Indiana. For example, the newest radionuclide therapy for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer, 177Lu-PSMA, also known as Pluvicto™, is now offered at University Hospital. The department also performs other peptide receptor radionuclide therapies (PRRT) in patients with thyroid cancer (131-Iodine) and metastatic neuroendocrine tumors (177Lu-DOTATATE, Lutathera™). Offering these treatments gives patients more options in their fight against cancer. In addition, patients may have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials and other research studies.
A joint effort between radiology and urology is leading a path toward more effective patient care for patients with prostate cancer.
Temel Tirkes, MD, professor of radiology and imaging sciences, and Michael Koch, MD, chair of the Department of Urology, became the first within Indiana University Health to perform a new procedure in an intra-operative MRI suite that uses the TULSA-PRO® (Transurethral Ultrasound Ablation) system to ablate prostate tissue.
This minimally invasive procedure uses directional ultrasound to produce very high temperatures to ablate (destroy) targeted prostate tissue. The procedure combines real-time MRI with robotically-driven directional thermal ultrasound to deliver predictable, physician-prescribed ablation of whole-gland or partial prostate tissue. The TULSA procedure is radiation-free, incision-free and FDA-cleared. Once recovered from general anesthesia, patients are discharged. Radiologists and urologists can customize the procedure depending on the location of the biopsy-proven malignancy and can avoid essential nerves, and other structures, around the prostate. Based on five-year follow-up data, this procedure has a relatively higher quality of life compared to prostatectomy. Collaborative efforts like this enable future physicians to uncover new procedures that will, in turn, generate better outcomes for patients.