ONE ON ONE | Dr. Richard Barr Physician helps bring new technology to the Valley

Why did you go into radiology?
During my Ph.D. work in chemistry I worked with magnetic resonance and became very interested in that technology. I was real interested in using what I'd learned in chemistry in terms of imaging patients and looking at the pathology of diseases with that technology.
I understand your department conducts cancer research with organizations and people around the country. How does that occur?
We do an enormous amount of research here, but no one seems to know about it. We work with drug companies and equipment manufacturers in improving ultrasound technology, mostly for the detection and treatment of cancer.
What is your current research project?
Because we have built a national reputation for doing good research work, we were asked to participate in the National Lung Screening Trial. The goal is to determine the best way to screen for lung cancer, the standard chest X-ray or spiral CT (computed tomography) scan.We know that the CT scan is much better at picking up nodules or masses or changes at a much earlier stage. This study is being done to compare CTs to chest X-rays to see if picking up more smaller lesions leads to improved outcome, or increased life span if you will, with lung cancer.
The problems with CT are, because it is more sensitive, it finds a lot of abnormalities that are benign and aren't going to turn into cancer. But they are there, and everybody panics because we found something that we wouldn't have known was there and wouldn't have bothered the patient at all.
So there are some pluses and minuses. Yes, we're going to find more cancers, but we're also going to find almost 100 times more abnormalities that aren't going to affect the patient at all, and we can't distinguish them necessarily from cancer. The result is additional testing and patient anxiety.
Therefore, the study is also designed to follow patient anxiety to see how patients feel when they find out they have an abnormality and to help determine the best method to deal with all these findings.
What is the value of research?
It helps us keep up to date. And because of the research done by our ultrasound department, we have gotten more technology and advances than almost anybody in the country. Because we work with the companies, we get access to equipment before it can even be purchased.
If you could have a conversation with anybody, living or dead, who would it be, and why?
My grandfather, Santo Fognini. He came over from Italy in his 20s, and migrated to Campbell to work in the steel mills. I thought for someone who was uneducated, he had a very good perspective for what was going on, and he had a lot of good advice. I think he was the guy who taught me the most about life.
What do you do to unwind?
I have a large garden.
What are your other hobbies?
Picture taking and camping.
When did you know you wanted to go into medicine?
I wanted to become a chemist at an early age. I think it probably was in graduate school that I became interested in medicine.
What is the most frustrating aspect of your work?
Having to tell patients that they have cancer or a serious illness. Normally, we just read film. But, when we have patients enrolled in studies, I'm kind of there and trapped if you will. They are coming to us to get advanced study, and I usually discuss the results with patients as we do the study. Often times, we're the first to give them the bad news.
What do you like about Campbell?
My friends are there ... wonderful neighbors that I grew up with and are like an extended family. It's a great neighborhood.
What is the value of your research to St. Elizabeth and the Mahoning Valley?
Working with equipment manufacturers and drug companies allows us to bring technologies to the Youngstown area much sooner. Most of these things are not FDA approved ... we're doing the research to get FDA approval. So we may have use of these machines three to five years earlier than someone may be able to buy them. Part of the agreement working with the manufacturers is that the equipment stays here.