The Women’s Imaging Center is the premier Mammography Service and Medical Diagnostic Imaging Center in Colorado serving Denver/Cherry Creek, Lakewood, Highlands Ranch, and Westminster. It may seem like a constellation of words, but those particular words “The Women’s Imaging Center” uniquely identify our brand throughout Colorado. These words form the definition and the criteria of what a Women’s Imaging Center needs to possess to use this title. Most other imaging centers in Colorado offer different unrelated modalities wherein a patient has a study performed by a technologist and the radiologist (never examining or talking with the patient) interprets the images and renders an opinion in the relative isolation of the whole story.
This constellation of words that make up our name represents interrelated studies available to women in a dedicated Radiology Imaging Center interpreted by Women’s Imaging Radiologists with special Fellowship- training with the patient directly involved in the discussion or clinical examination. The concept was designed and developed by Radiology pioneers of ‘The Society for the Advancement of Women’s Imaging’ (SAWI) who recognized a need for this specialized category for the delivery of imaging services in the prevention and diagnosis of normal physiology and disease processes that affect women including breast, reproductive, and endocrine whole body or organ systems.
Dr. Kelly McAleese was the first physician to bring this concept to Colorado after further redesigning the subspecialty at The University of Arizona and then implementing the final program in Colorado in 1995 as the first Women’s Imaging Fellowship Program at the University of Colorado. This fellowship consisted of working within the Department of Radiology cross-training among the various related organ system specialties of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reproductive Endocrinology, Breast, and General Surgery, Body Imaging including MRI of Breast and Body, Endocrine including Bone Densitometry, and staging of disease within Nuclear Medicine.
Four of SAWI’s specialized Women’s Imaging Radiologists who worked within this field for years, including Dr. Kelly McAleese, presented this model and highlighted successful Imaging Center(s) in the US which had implemented this concept at the largest International Radiology Forum called The Radiological Societies of North America in 1995. Dr. McAleese presented the application of these principles in the development of an out-patient Center (The Women’s Imaging Center). The four SAWI authors published the definition of a Woman’s Imaging Center in Radiographics, “pubs.rsna.org”, Vol19 No Suppl 1, A. Antuaco, E. Shawde Paredes, Kelly McAleese, H. Hricak) outlining the definition and structure of this emerging concept.
By definition, to be a true “Women’s Imaging” facility, the radiology imaging of women occurs across multiple organ systems (such as breast, gynecologic, abdominal, and thyroid) by specialized fellowship-trained Radiologists with knowledge in the prevention and treatment of health and disease processes. The combination of Imaging related female organ systems (such as Breast and Gynecologic or Endocrine) or the use of various imaging modalities (like Mammograms Screening or Mammograms Diagnostic, Breast Ultrasound or Body Ultrasound, and MRI) occurring in one Imaging Center is necessary for this constellation of words to be properly used. In Colorado, at “The Women’s Imaging Center”, these various modalities are being performed and interpreted by Radiologists specialized in their training through Fellowship programs in the performance, interpretation, and examination as it applies to the female body. This may include the biopsy of breast cancer or thyroid ultrasound or pelvic ultrasound and sonohysterography of the uterus. Both Dr. Kelly McAleese and Dr. Timothy Colt (also a Fellowship-trained Radiologist at The Women’s Imaging Center) hold additional Certified clinical training in Bone Density through ‘The International Society of Clinical Densitometry’, the only Radiologists to hold that high-level certification to our knowledge in the state of Colorado, and our Technologist Janet Hill received the high honor as Top Technologist by the ISCD in 2018. Fellow radiology specialist Dr. John Lewin is internationally known with publications in Women’s Radiology and Women’s Imaging throughout multiple prestigious journals.
The Founder and Medical Director of “The Women’s Imaging Center” (also known by Trade names as Women’s Imaging-Denver/Cherry Creek, Women’s Imaging-Denver/Cherry Creek North Drive, Women’s Imaging-West/ Lakewood, Women’s Imaging-South/Highlands Ranch, and Women’s Imaging-North/Westminster) designed this comprehensive system for the women in Colorado because there was a need not being met 26 years ago. The development of “The Women’s Imaging Center” occurred at a time where women were waiting weeks for mammography imaging or breast biopsy of possible breast cancer (using Mammogram, Ultrasound, MRI, and Breast Biopsy). Therefore, by its design of proximity within one Imaging Center and any additional workup take place within a very short period for continuity of care. The “Women’s Imaging Center(s)” in Colorado are the only Centers (Denver Imaging Center, Lakewood Imaging Center, Highlands Ranch Imaging Center, Westminster Imaging Center) that adhere to the true definition in the state and were one of the few original development models in the country in the 1990s.
The Women’s Imaging Center uses the highest-rated digital mammography systems made by Hologic Dimensions and Selenia. We offer breast 3D mammograms, breast ultrasound, pelvic ultrasound, abdominal ultrasound, breast MRI, pelvic MRI, shoulder MRI, Knee MRI, brain MRI, spine MRI, thyroid ultrasound, thyroid fine needed biopsy, nonsurgical breast biopsy, stereotactic breast biopsy, ultrasound-guided breast biopsy, breast cyst aspiration, and other imaging services at affordable out-patient cost dedicated Women’s Imaging Centers in Denver/Cherry Creek, West/Lakewood, South/Highlands Ranch, and North/Westminster.
Call 303-321-CARE (2273) to schedule an appointment or make an online appointment request: Scheduling@thewomensimagingcenter.net
