Clarification Regarding Research Imaging During COVID-19

It is imperative that we balance research needs with that of our clinical demands, as the Department of Radiology continues to support ramp-up efforts. Please note the current state and approach of research imaging — with emphasis on availability — in light of the guidance for clinical research during the coronavirus pandemic

CHOP Research Institute has transitioned to Stage IV, which permits clinical research visits involving healthy controls as study participants, per the Return to Research Task Force update in July. Since the ramp-up required full resource utilization while keeping in mind the requirements for COVID-specific cleaning in between patients, it has become a bit more challenging for the researchers to find readily available research scan time as in pre-COVID times.

The Department of Radiology would like to reiterate its dedication to furthering research. To that end, our resources are available for scheduling outside normal business hours. Opportunities exist to scan patients earlier or later in the day, as well as on weekends with staff available to support. What this entails, however, is a closer collaborative effort between the researchers and the clinical staff/leads/managers.

If Principal Investigators need to discuss or clarify any potential issues, please feel free to contact us:

Tim Roberts, PhD
Vice Chair for Imaging Research
robertstim@email.chop.edu

Savvas Andronikou, MBBCh, PhD
Vice Chair for Clinical Research
andronikos@email.chop.edu

Thank you for your patience and consideration.