Medical Imaging

The Imaging Center of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine was established in 1959. After more than 50 years of development, it is fully equipped, its technology keeps pace with the advanced international level, and it has become a comprehensive medical imaging center integrating imaging examinations, teaching, and research, capable of providing timely and convenient services to patients at large. In 2016, it became a key clinical specialty of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The department’s subspecialties are rationally divided and developing in a balanced manner. It is organized into four subspecialty groups: head-and-neck and neuroimaging, cardiothoracic and breast imaging, abdominal and pelvic imaging, and musculoskeletal imaging. On average, approximately 1,300 patients are examined each day, including about 400 patients undergoing DR examinations, about 500 undergoing CT examinations, about 250 undergoing MR examinations, and about 150 undergoing bone-density, contrast, and mammographic examinations. Nearly 500 examination items are offered. The center promptly sends images to all clinical departments throughout the hospital and also makes imaging materials available for teaching.

Through long-term clinical and research practice, the center has gradually developed a distinctive profile centered on cardiovascular imaging and osteoarticular imaging, making full use of various advanced technologies for development and clinical application. It has implemented a networked information management system, enabling image review and diagnosis across multiple platforms, including an in-hospital PACS, remote access from outside the hospital, and mobile terminals used by staff. This ensures the timeliness and accuracy of examination results, further improves the quality of medical care, and safeguards patient safety in medical care. An advanced intelligent post-processing platform enables precise reconstruction and automatic annotation, greatly improving diagnostic efficiency.

The department currently has DR digital X-ray machines, a bedside DR digital radiography machine, dual-source CT, multidetector-row spiral CT, 3.0T/1.5T MRI systems, a digital gastrointestinal radiography system, a molybdenum-target mammography unit, an X-ray bone densitometer, and a cluster of intelligent post-processing workstations, among other equipment. These have established the hardware platform necessary for clinical care, teaching, and research. The rooms housing all types of imaging equipment are designed in accordance with standards and distributed rationally; they all meet the relevant national requirements for radiation protection, have passed inspections by the relevant authorities, and operate under licenses. All types of warning signs in workplaces containing radiation equipment are standardized and clearly visible.

The department currently has a group of experienced professional and technical personnel, with a relatively well-structured staffing hierarchy. It currently has 59 employees, including 44 physicians, 10 technologists, and 5 nurses. Over the past five years, it has published 59 papers and 9 scholarly works, compiled 4 textbooks, authored 15 monographs, and undertaken 6 hospital-level research projects, 3 autonomous-region-level projects, 1 university-level project, and 1 department- or bureau-level project.

At present, 8 staff members hold higher-education teacher qualification certificates, and 6 hold teaching professional titles. The department is responsible for teaching and practical training for the imaging class of the School of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Xinjiang Medical University. It also undertakes the training and rotations of TCM residents undergoing standardized residency training and TCM graduate students. It has established remote consultations with prefecture-level collaborating hospitals and has long accepted personnel for advanced training.