A clinical radiologist is a specialist doctor who is trained to read and interpret medical images in order to diagnose, treat and monitor diseases and injuries. They do this using a range of imaging techniques, including X-ray ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and molecular imaging.
In addition, radiologists also run patient clinics, take biopsy samples and prepare patients for surgery, as well as using real-time imaging to perform minimally invasive surgery, called interventional radiology.
Many radiologists will specialise, becoming experts in areas such as musculoskeletal, breast, cardiac, paediatric and gastrointestinal imaging. They can also work as ‘generalists’, meaning that they work on all types of hospital imaging, as well as doing some interventional work.
