Overview

The Imaging Core within the Mayo Clinic Robert M. and Billie Kelley Pirnie Translational Polycystic Kidney Disease Center provides imaging services to assess and catalog the progression or regression of polycystic kidney disease (PKD).

Core services

The Imaging Core's PKD imaging services are available to both Mayo Clinic researchers and external researchers.

• Image analysis. The core offers automated MRI and computerized tomography (CT) imaging and volumetric analyses of polycystic kidneys and livers, and functional assessment of the kidney and heart, including measurements of renal blood flow. Learn more about our image analysis services.
• Imaging data management. The core facilitates the transmission, collection and storage of anonymized imaging data used in translational PKD research and provides a system that enables PKD researchers to exchange images. Learn more about our imaging data management services.

Numerous developmental projects also are underway in the Imaging Core. The goal is for these developmental projects to lead to new or enhanced services that will further facilitate the translation of basic PKD research discoveries into clinical practice to improve patient treatment options.

Core director

The director of the Imaging Core is Bradley J. Erickson, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Erickson is a radiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and is a professor of radiology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Dr. Erickson is also principal investigator of the Radiology Informatics Laboratory, which develops informatics tools that extract and convey the wealth of information available in medical images in a clear and concise fashion to health care professionals.