North Liberty campus preview: Imaging services
New campus offers convenience, greater access to state-of-the-art imaging
When it opens this spring, University of Iowa Health Care’s North Liberty campus will offer a wide range of advanced diagnostic imaging services—giving patients more options, and greater convenience, when it comes to getting a scan for diagnostic or treatment-related purposes.
Any UI Health Care patient may choose to schedule imaging at the North Liberty location.
“Our mission includes supporting our clinical service lines, and by offering greater access and convenience, the North Liberty location allows us to improve the quality of life for Iowans,” says Howard O’Rourke, MD, clinical associate professor and medical director of musculoskeletal radiology in the Department of Radiology. “The setting and institutional support at the North Liberty campus furthers our clinical mission by improving Iowans' access to leading imaging equipment, subspecialized radiologists, and outstanding orthopedic surgeons and clinicians.”
While the North Liberty facility will house the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation and a Level 4 emergency department, imaging services at North Liberty are available for a broad range of conditions and specialties. Whether it’s for a heart condition or related to obstetrics care, for example, patients who schedule a scan at the North Liberty campus will receive the same imaging expertise available at other UI Health Care locations. Located less than two miles from Interstate 380 and with surface-level parking right next to the main entrance, the North Liberty facility will be a convenient option for patients throughout the community and surrounding area.
“The North Liberty campus is a modern, state-of-the-art facility that will offer outstanding radiology care,” notes Bruno Policeni, MD, MBA, chair of the Department of Radiology. “The imaging protocols and interpretation of images at this location will match those provided at other UI Health Care locations. This ensures that patients have another choice and flexibility to select where they receive their imaging services.”
Imaging technology at North Liberty
The North Liberty campus will house state-of-the-art imaging technology throughout the facility.
This includes a photon-counting computer tomography (CT) scanner, one of only two of its kind in clinical use in Iowa; the other such scanner is located at UI Health Care’s university campus. CT scans combine X-rays and computer technology to create detailed images of bones, muscles, organs, and blood vessels. CT scans provide greater detail than standard X-rays, and photon-counting CT produces the highest-resolution CT images.
Imaging technology provided at the North Liberty campus will include:
- 10 digital radiology (X-ray) machines
- Two EOS imaging systems: 2D/3D X-ray imaging that is optimal for full-body images frequently used for scoliosis and leg alignment assessments
- Three magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners: one 3T scanner and two 1.5T scanners
- Photon-counting CT: highest-quality CT technology available
- DE Force CT scanner: highly effective at reducing metal artifacts (visual irregularities or distortions in scans caused by metal implants) in patients with joint replacements or surgical hardware
- Standing foot/ankle CT: a scan taken with a patient standing (instead of lying face-up), which allows a radiologist and orthopedist to visualize the bones and joints in a position of function
- Fluoroscopy: a scan that uses X-rays to create real-time video showing how organs, muscles, and bones move
- Ultrasound: a scan that uses sound waves to create real-time images of soft tissues inside the body for diagnostic purposes as well as guided injections and IV (intravenous) line and PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) line placements. Ultrasound technology at the North Liberty campus includes ECHO (echocardiogram) for heart structure and function and vascular ultrasound for blood vessels and blood flow.
- DEXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry): a scan that measures bone density to diagnose osteoporosis and other conditions that affect bone strength and function
- EKG (electrocardiogram): a scan that measures electrical activity of the heart
The North Liberty facility will be staffed by radiology technologists as well as subspecialized radiologists who are trained to interpret imaging results and provide guidance on treatment.
"Patients can expect a friendly, compassionate technologist guiding them through their imaging study on exceptional imaging equipment, followed by a subspecialized radiology interpretation,” O’Rourke says.
