Musculoskeletal Imaging and Intervention

MSK Knee Image for radiology

The musculoskeletal imaging section of OHSU Diagnostic Radiology provides comprehensive evaluation of bones, joints, muscles, and nerves. A complete spectrum of imaging modalities is employed, including MRI, CT, ultrasound, x-ray and fluoroscopy, and all studies are performed on state of the art equipment. We use the latest imaging techniques in order to address the specific concerns of our referring clinicians.

The section also maintains a robust musculoskeletal interventional practice, offering a wide array of services performed on a daily basis. These include fluoroscopic- and CT-guided joint injections; CT-guided spine, pelvic, and extremity bone and soft tissue biopsies; ultrasound-guided biopsies, aspirations, and injections; and CT-guided osteoid osteoma RFA (radiofrequency ablation).

All musculoskeletal radiologists are certified by the American Board of Radiology and have completed musculoskeletal fellowships. Meet the MSK Radiologist Team.

We work closely with referring clinicians in orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation, rheumatology, and other clinical services and in order to provide the best possible care for our patients. We hold weekly and monthly case conferences with referring clinicians to discuss patient care, imaging findings, and intervention.

In addition to our busy clinical service, the musculoskeletal faculty takes great pride in providing exceptional teaching in the radiology residency program and musculoskeletal radiology fellowship. Direct teaching occurs throughout the day at the workstation and in the procedure suite, complemented by weekly didactic and case conferences. A complete teaching curriculum ensures that our trainees are taught the most current topics and procedural techniques.

We also have several ongoing academic projects including scientific research, educational exhibits, international teaching efforts, and national, regional, and institutional lectures.

Routine and advanced imaging provided

X-Ray of a hand for radiology

Fracture Imaging | Ligament Imaging | Muscle and Tendon Imaging | Joint Instability Evaluation | Cartilage Evaluation | Rheumatologic Disease Imaging | Spine Alignment Evaluation | Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Imaging | MR and CT Arthrography | Diagnostic and Therapeutic Joint Injections | Hardware Assessment | Bone Biopsy | Spine Biopsy | Muscle and Other Soft Tissue Biopsy | Osteoid Osteoma RF (Radiofrequency) Ablation | Iliopsoas Bursography | Muscle and Tendon Ultrasound | Imaging of Peripheral Nerves

MSK Heel Image for radiology

Fellowship

The Musculoskeletal Imaging and Interventional Fellowship is a non-ACGME program, requiring a 1 year commitment. Candidates must be Board Certified or Board Eligible radiologists and eligible for an unrestricted Oregon state medical license prior to beginning the fellowship. Candidates for fellowship are selected through the Musculoskeletal Fellowship Match. You can get additional information about the match and registration from the above link to the Society of Skeletal Radiology website.

The MSK section is composed of four full-time faculty members and two fellows. Meet the MSK radiologist team.

OHSU, Oregon’s only academic health center, is home to multiple state of the art CT and MRI scanners; the vast majority of joint imaging is performed on 3T scanners. The program has two fellowship positions and offers a comprehensive education in all facets of musculoskeletal radiology. The fellowship aims to produce well-rounded musculoskeletal radiologists in a collegial environment who are expert diagnosticians and interventionalists. These aims are achieved through a combination of teaching, clinical work and ample opportunities for research including protected academic/meeting time.

The fellows typically alternate in the diagnostics versus procedures roles every other week. The diagnostic MSK service interprets a large number of imaging studies daily, including radiography, MRI, CT, and ultrasound. The diverse case mix includes high-end sports MR and an active bone and soft tissue sarcoma service (Knight Cancer Institute). Fellows work side-by-side with attendings, reviewing cases throughout the day and receiving one-on-one teaching, gradually assuming more responsibilities as the year progresses. In addition to interpreting studies, fellows also develop a deep understanding of MRI and CT protocols by tailoring examinations for each patient, working closely with technologists to modify protocols according to specific clinical questions and troubleshooting challenging scenarios.

The section also performs a large number of procedures each week, including fluoroscopic-guided therapeutic injections/aspirations and MR arthrography, CT-guided biopsies/interventions including spine, miscellaneous injections, RF (radiofrequency) ablation, and ultrasound-guided biopsies/interventions. This includes all MSK-related procedures for pediatric patients via Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. Fellows are an integral part of this service and work closely with referring clinicians to decide on appropriate plans of action and patient management.

The Musculoskeletal section is actively engaged with referring clinical colleagues and our fellows are often the first line of communication between services.  These critical relationships are maintained and strengthened through weekly Rheumatology-Radiology and Orthopedic Oncology-Pathology-Radiology conferences and bimonthly Orthopedic Sports Medicine-Radiology conferences which provide valuable insight into the needs of referring providers as well as feedback on imaging interpretation and procedures. In addition to daily clinical teaching and multidisciplinary conferences, the MSK fellowship curriculum includes a monthly lecture series dedicated to covering highly subspecialized topics to ensure our fellows have as complete an education as possible. Finally, the fellowship training is supplemented with journal club, arthroscopy correlation, biopsy rad-path correlation and hands-on ultrasound didactics.

Fellows leave the program well-prepared for both private practice and academic settings with strong procedural skills, a balanced fund of knowledge and a solid framework for approaching even the most difficult problems in musculoskeletal imaging.

Annual total imaging volumes

Radiography – 57000 I MSK CT – 1500 I MSK MRI – 3700 I MSK Diagnostic US – 75 I Osteoid Osteoma RFA – 8 I CT-guided bone/soft tissue biopsy – 150 I US-guided biopsy – 50 I Fluoroscopic-guided injections/aspirations – 500

  • Fellowship Lecture Series- Two to three Thursdays per month at noon.  MSK faculty provide 30-45 minute lectures based on the musculoskeletal radiology fellowship curriculum.
  • Musculoskeletal Case of the Day- Daily 4pm interesting case conference for residents and fellows.
  • Resident Lecture Series- Approximately 30 resident lectures are given by MSK faculty to residents and fellows. Near the end of fellowship, fellows will usually give at least one lecture to the residents with faculty support.
  • Journal Club- Approximately 4-6 meetings per year discussing pertinent/hot topics in the MSK literature.
  • Hands-On MSK Ultrasound Didactics- Approximately 6-8 faculty-guided joint focused US didactics per year.
  • Radiology-Pathology Correlation- Quarterly conference reviewing all MSK bone and soft tissue biopsies for concordance, QA, and interesting cases/techniques.
  • Radiology-Arthroscopy Correlation- Quarterly conference reviewing interesting arthrograms that underwent arthroscopy for concordance and QA.
  • Joint MSK-Neuroradiology Spine Biopsy Correlation- Biannual inter-departmental conference reviewing spine biopsy results for concordance, QA, and interesting cases.

Fellows are assigned to cover tumor board and multiple working conferences with faculty throughout the year:

  • Sarcoma Tumor Board- Wednesdays at 12pm
  • Rheumatology Interesting Cases- Wednesdays at 10:15am
  • Orthopedic Radiology-Arthroscopy- Bi-annual at 6:30am
  • Trauma-Radiology- Bi-annual at 7:30am

Fellows receive 26 days of PTO each year, from which both sick and vacation time is used. An additional Extended Illness bank is also established for circumstances when the PTO bank is exhausted.

MSK fellow salary is commensurate with PGY Year and based on the AAMC Western State Mean Trainee Figures, updated each January.

Each fellow earns 10 days of CME conference time, more meeting time may be approved at the department’s discretion if a fellow is presenting at a meeting.

Fellows are currently offered funds, up to $3000/year, to reimburse for educational materials, books, and CME or board review courses.

Fellows take approximately 6-8 general call weekends a year starting in September for which they cover all STAT and inpatient radiographs. Fellows also take approximately 8-10 short call shifts per year from 5pm-9pm in which they cover non-neuroradiology ED plain films and cross-sectional imaging (CT and US).  Finally, fellows take part in the MSK backup spine biopsy call pool approximately 6-8 weekends a year which runs concordantly with the assigned general call weekends.

Opportunities for fellow moonlighting are available via the VA Healthcare System.

Half-days per week starting in September which can be combined for one full academic day every two weeks. More academic is available at faculty discretion given fellow interest/involvement in scholarly projects.

Fellows are encouraged, but not required to engage in a scholarly project. Ample opportunity exists to work on abstracts for presentation at national and international meetings or manuscripts for publication.

Each fellow is given two weeks of protected elective time to rotate through other radiology sections or departments during the second half of the academic year.

  • “Percutaneous image-guided sternal biopsy: a cross-institutional retrospective review of diagnostic yield and safety in 50 cases. Skeletal Radiol. 2021;50:495-504. DOI: 10.1007/s00256-020-03587-6. PMID: 32815039
  • Multimodality pitfalls of wrist imaging with a focus on magnetic resonance imaging: what the radiologist needs to know. Top Magn Reson Imaging 2020; 29:263-272. DOI: 10.1097/RMR.0000000000000254. PMID: 33021577
  • Novel EGFL7-FOSB fusion in pseudomyogenic hemangioendothelioma with widely metastatic disease. Histopathology 2021; DOI: 10.1111/his.14349. PMID: 33550637”
  • Untreated plasmacytoma of bone containing macroscopic intralesional fat and mimicking intraosseous lipoma: a case report and review of the literature. Clin Imaging 2020;64:18-23. DOI:10.1017/j.clinimag.2020.03.003. PMID: 32208179
  • Avulsion injuries and tendon ruptures of the hand and wrist: A review of frequently encountered and uncommon radiologic diagnoses. RadioGraphics, epub ahead of print Jan 2020. DOI: 10.1148/rg.2020190085. PMID: 31917655
  • Pearls and pitfalls for soft-tissue and bone biopsies: cross institutional review. RadioGraphics, epub ahead of print Jan 2020. DOI 10.1148/rg.2020190089. PMID: 31917660
  • Low-grade osteosarcomatous transformation of atypical lipomatous tumor in a pediatric patient. Pediatr Dev Pathol, epub ahead of print Nov 2019. DOI: 10.1177/1093526619889130. PMID: 31739757
  • Radiographic evidence of soft tissue gas fourteen days after total knee arthroplasty is predictive of early prosthetic joint infection. Am J Roentgenol, epub ahead of print Sept 2019. DOI: 10.2214/AJR.19.21702. PMID: 31573855.
  • Nomenclature of subchondral non-neoplastic bone lesions. AJR Am J Roentgenol, epub ahead of print July 2019. DOI: 10.2214/AJR.19.21571. PMID: 31339354
  • Practical approach and review of brachial plexus pathology with operative correlation: what the radiologists needs to know. Semin in Roentgenol 2019;54:92-112. DOI: 10.1053/j.ro.2018.10.002. PMID: 31128744
  • Pearls and pitfalls of fluoroscopic-guided foot and ankle injections: what the radiologist needs to know. Epub ahead of print. Skeletal Radiol 2019. DOI: 10.1007/s00256-019-03226-9. PMID: 31062056
  • Naviculocuneiform and second and third tarsometatarsal articulations: underappreciated normal anatomy and how it may impact fluoroscopic guided injections. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2019;212:874-882. DOI: 10.2214/AJR.18.20347. PMID: 30673336
  • Advanced imaging of multiple myeloma bone disease. Front Endocrinol 2018;7:436. DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2018.00436. PMID 30131767
  • Imaging of benign fibular tumors and their mimics. Can Assoc Radiol J 2018;69:293-302. DOI: 10.1016/j.carj.2018.03.007. PMID: 30078399
  • Magnetic resonance imaging of musculoskeletal emergencies: what the radiologist needs to know. American Roentgen Ray Society Virtual Annual Meeting, April 18-22, 2021
  • Musculoskeletal MythBusters: Normal variable appearance of and pitfalls associated with ligaments, fibrocartilage, tendons, and bones. American Roentgen Ray Society Virtual Annual Meeting, April 18-22, 2021
  • Percutaneous image-guided sternal biopsy: a cross-institutional retrospective review of diagnostic yield and safety in 50 cases. Society of Skeletal Radiology, Virtual Annual Meeting, March 13-17, 2021
  • Cuboid-navicular coalition: cross-institutional study of a rarely reported entity including magnetic resonance imaging, associated pathology, clinical presentation, and treatment. Society of Skeletal Radiology, Virtual Annual Meeting, March 13-17, 2021
  • Pigmented villonodular synovitis treated with a novel colony stimulating factor inhibitor, pexidartinib: a case series of three patients’ MRI findings and comparison with clinical response. Society of Skeletal Radiology, Virtual Annual Meeting, March 13-17, 2021
  • Polyostotic fibrocartilaginous dysplasia: case of the day award winner/presentation. Society of Skeletal Radiology, Virtual Meeting, March 13-17, 2021
  • MRI of the popliteus tendon: age-related changes in size and signal in asymptomatic patients and association with osteoarthrosis. Radiologic Society North America, Chicago IL, Nov. 28-Dec 2, 2021
  • Beyond schwannomas and neurofibromas: a review of benign and malignant lesions that arise in association with nerves. Radiologic Society North America, Chicago IL, Nov. 28-Dec 2, 2021”
  • Percutaneous image-guided sternal biopsy: a cross-institutional retrospective review of diagnostic yield and safety in 45 cases. American Roentgen Ray Society, Chicago, IL, May 3-9, 2020
  • Radiographic evidence of soft tissue gas fourteen days after total knee arthroplasty is predictive of early prosthetic joint infection. Radiologic Society North America, Chicago IL, Dec 1-6, 2019
  • Joint prosthesis. Radiologic Society of North America, Chicago IL, Dec 1-6, 2019
  • RSNA Diagnosis Live: Keeping radiology weird-spot diagnoses from the Pacific Northwest. Radiologic Society of North America, Dec. 2019, Chicago, IL
  • Nomenclature of subchondral non-neoplastic bone lesions. Society of Skeletal Radiology, Scottsdale, AZ March 10-13, 2019
  • To drill or not to drill, that is the question. Society of Skeletal Radiology, Scottsdale, AZ March 10-13, 2019
  • Naviculocuneiform and second and third tarsometatarsal articulations: underappreciated normal anatomy and how it may impact fluoroscopic guided injections. Society of Skeletal Radiology, Scottsdale, AZ March 10-13, 2019
  • Avulsion injuries and tendon ruptures of the hand and wrist: a review of frequently encountered and uncommon radiologic diagnoses including mimics. Radiologic Society of North America, Chicago, IL Nov 24-Nov 30, 2018 (Cum Laude, accepted for RadioGraphics publication 2020)
  • Pearls and pitfalls for soft tissue and bone biopsies from quaternary orthopedic oncology referral centers: A cross-institutional review. Radiologic Society of North America, Chicago, IL Nov 24-Nov 30, 2018 (Cum Laude, accepted for RadioGraphics publication 2020)
  • Incidental or life-threatening? A case-based review of osteochondroma related pathology from mechanical complications to malignant degeneration. Radiologic Society of North America, Chicago, IL Nov 24-30, 2018 (Certificate of merit award winner)
  • Imaging of rotator cuff reconstructions for massive rotator cuff tears: what the radiologist needs to know. Radiologic Society of North America, Chicago, IL Nov 24-30, 2018
  • RSNA diagnosis Live: Keeping radiology weird-spot diagnoses from the Pacific Northwest. Radiologic Society of North America, Dec. 2018 Chicago, IL

From the slopes of Mt. Hood to the shores of Cannon Beach, Oregon is referred to as a “Pacific Wonderland” for good reason and Portland is perfectly situated to take full advantage of it all. Here is just a small sampling of the innumerable things us Portlanders love about where we live, work, and play. Click here to learn more.

  • Alexei Ku, MD, 2021. Kaiser Permanente, Portland, OR
  • Brendan Case, MD, 2021. Kaiser Permanente, Portland, OR
  • Rex Holliday, MD, 2020. Oregon Medical Group, Eugene, OR
  • David Feigal, MD, 2020. Carilion Clinic, Roanoke, VA
  • Jaryd Yee, MD, 2019. Renaissance Imaging Medical Associates INC, Maui, HI
  • Kevin He, MD, 2019. Milwaukee Radiologists LTD, Milwaukee, WI
  • Joshua Smith, MD, 2018. Kootenai Outpatient Imaging, Coeur d’Alene, ID
  • Meghan Higley, MD, 2018. Meridian Park, Tualatin, OR
  • Bryan Wolf, MD, 2017. Assistant Professor Radiology, OHSU
  • Cody Quirk, MD, 2017. Assistant Professor Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina

Please inquire with Katie Manoogian, Department Manager, at fosterka@ohsu.edu  if interested.

Application information

Our program is filled through June 2026. We will begin accepting applications for 2 positions for our 2026/27 Fellowship Year beginning November 1, 2024. Interviews will take place in early 2025. Our program will participate in the NRMP to match our fellowship positions. Learn more about the fellowship match on the Society of Skeletal Radiology Website.

Required application materials are:

  • One completed and signed universal application form
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Personal statement
  • Three letters of recommendation*
  • Photocopy of the Dean's letter from your medical school or ECFMG certificate
  • USMLE Step 1, 2, 3 scores

*If emailed, letters of recommendation must be sent directly from the recommender (or assigned admin) to Julia Starkey.  If a hard copy is mailed, it must be in a sealed envelope.

Send your application packet by email to Julia Starkey.

Address the packet to:

Barry Hansford, M.D. - MSK Radiology Fellowship Director
ATTN: Julia Starkey
Mail Code: L-340
Oregon Health & Science University
3181 S.W. Sam Jackson Park Road
Portland, OR 97239

A confirmation letter or email will be sent to you once all documents are received.
For additional information or questions, contact Julia Starkey.

OHSU Women in Radiology Group

OHSU School of Medicine Diversity and Equity

Foreign applicants must be legally able to work in the U.S., or eligible to obtain work authorization.  Initial and extension J-1 Visas are considered in very rare circumstances. All non-ACGME fellowship candidates must be eligible for H-1B visas, which includes successful completion of all USMLEs. 

We are unable to support J-1 applicants that require a Conrad J-1 waiver in order to be eligible for an H-1B visa. All visa applicants must have successfully passed all USMLE steps at least 6 months prior to fellowship start as USMLEs are required for visa applications.  LMCC exams are not accepted for H-1B applications.