Dr Kshama Wechalekar
Dr Kshama Wechalekar is the lead consultant in nuclear medicine at Royal Brompton Hospital.
Dr Wechalekar trained at Royal Brompton and Royal Marsden Hospitals after completing MBBS and general nuclear medicine degrees and training in Mumbai, India. She gained specialist knowledge in nuclear cardiology and oncology including PET-CT.
Dr Wechalekar has a specialist qualification in nuclear cardiology from both the American and European nuclear cardiology boards. She has previously served as a President of the British Nuclear Cardiology Society from 2014-16 and was instrumental in bringing various cardiac imaging societies into a common platform. In addition, she chairs the clinical group of Nuclear Medicine and PET in the new Kings Health Partnership.
Dr Wechalekar’s areas of expertise include:
- nuclear imaging of the heart and lungs
- hybrid imaging techniques, such as SPECT-CT and PET-CT, to improve understanding of pathophysiological processes affecting heart and lungs
- imaging of inflammation and infection using PET-CT
- imaging for cardiac and systemic sarcoidosis using PET-CT.
Cardiac sarcoidosis is life-threatening, but an underdiagnosed condition. Dr Wechalekar worked with experts at the Trust, designing a diagnostic algorithm for this condition. It helps clinicians diagnose, assess treatment responses, and track therapy with PET-CT scans.
Dr Wechalekar has extensive experience in myocardial perfusion imaging. She led the development of a new method of quantifying lung function for patients undergoing lung surgery. She believes in the strength of multimodal imaging for a better understanding of disease processes.
Dr Kshama Wechalekar has developed a new method of 3D lung quantification (in collaboration with a software company) to produce lobar quantification of lungs, using dedicated CT and SPECT-CT methods and published articles.
She has been working on the role of PET-CT in cardiac sarcoidosis research and has been guiding trainees.
She worked on brain perfusion scans in HIV-positive asymptomatic patients towards the award of DNB.
Dr Kshama Wechalekar has written papers for many peer-reviewed journals and review articles. She has authored book chapters and presented work at national and international meetings. In addition, she has written invited editorials and has been a reviewer for various British, European and American nuclear medicine journals.
Dr Kshama Wechalekar teaches nuclear cardiology at Imperial College London, MSc students at King’s College London and to London Deanery trainees rotating through the hospitals.