The Academy of Chiropractic is proud to announce that Dr. Donald Capoferri has been the first chiropractor nationally to have completed a Mini-Fellowship in Neuroradiology, focusing on  MRI spine interpretation. Dr. Capoferri, a 1981 Pennsylvania College of Chiropractic graduate, did so by completing a 40 hour program requiring a minimum pre-requisite 25 hours of MRI study.

The Mini-Fellowship involves reviewing and being tested on a minimum of 40 MRI spine series with Robert Peyster MD, Neuroradiologist. Dr. Peyster attained his neuroradiology training at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Harvard Medical School system, has been published over 70 times and is now a professor of radiology and neurology and is the Chief of Neuroradiology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, School of Medicine.

In addition to the image review and testing, Dr. Capoferri also had to  study extensive research on MRI and neuroradiology  . He then had to do his own research and write a case report suitable for publication on how MRI effects the diagnosis, prognosis and/or the treatment plan of a chiropractic patient. 

According to Dr. Mark Studin, an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Bridgeport, College of Chiropractic, who both coordinates a neuroradiology clinical rotation for senior interns at the doctoral level and this program at the post-doctoral level, "This is a significant step for the chiropractic profession in advancing our knowledge and keeping pace with the medical community. Without these types of programs, we will forever be in the shadows of medicine and we need to control our own destiny in a collaborative marketplace. This cannot be done without direct knowledge."

At the present time, six additional doctors are in the middle of attaining their mini-fellowships. Anyone in the profession is welcome to participate.