Dr Thomas Semple

Dr Thomas Semple is a cardiothoracic imaging specialist with expertise in the imaging of heart and lung conditions in neonates, infants, children and adults

He graduated from Kings College, London, in 2009 and completed his postgraduate radiology training at the University College London Hospitals' (UCLH) training scheme in 2016. After completing his cardiac CT and paediatric radiology fellowships at Royal Brompton, Great Ormand Hospital and University College Hospital, Dr Semple undertook a two-year structural and functional lung magnetic resonance imaging (MR) fellowship at Royal Brompton, where he currently works. 

Dr Semple is the clinical lead for congenital cardiac CT at Royal Brompton, and provides radiology input for multi-disciplinary team meetings, including: 

• Paediatric and dult congential joint cardiology-cardiothoracic (JCC)
• Paediatric respiratory 
• National Pulmonary Hypertension Service (NPHS) 
• Paediatric intensive care imaging. 

Expertise

Dr Semple has a range of expertise in heart and lung procedures and services including: 

• Childhood Interstitial Lung Disease (ChILD) imaging
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of lung disease
• CT imaging for congenital heart disease assessment (adult and paediatric)
• Lymphatic imaging, including fluoroscopic, CT and MRI lymphangiography
• Cardiac CT imaging, including coronary, valve assessment, procedural planning including valve intervention (melody, TAVI, TMVI), left atrial appendage device planning and electrophysiology procedural planning
• Paediatric cardiac intensive care ultrasound - specifically cranial doppler and central and peripheral vascular ultrasound
• General paediatric imaging, thoracic imaging and thoracic intervention (adult and paediatric biopsies and drain insertions). 

Research interest

Dr Semple’s research interests include:

• Paediatric lung imaging (including structural and functional lung MRI)
• Use of cardiac CT techniques in paediatric practice including neonatal coronary CT. 

Teaching and conferences

Dr Semple regularly speaks at imaging courses and international and national meetings including:

• International Diagnostic Course Davos (IDKD)
• International congress on paediatric pulmonology CIPP
• BEAT PCD
• Society of Cardiovascular CT (SCCT) Annual Scientific and Winter Meetings
• European Society of Paediatric Radiology Annual Meeting
• John Price Paediatric Respiratory Medicine Conference
• Zurich Heart House Post Graduate Course in Heart Failure, London
• International Preceptorship in Adult Congenital Heart Disease Pulmonary Hypertension
• Royal College of Radiologists Annual Scientific Meeting
• The London Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Course. 

He also regularly supervises rotating registrars and Imperial College BSc students both in their day-to-day work and at scientific meetings. 

Publications

Dr Semple has published in topics spanning paediatric and adult, cardiac and respiratory imaging. He has contributed to recent editions of text books including Kendig’s disorders of the respiratory tract in children and Grainger and Allison’s Diagnostic Radiology.

• Semple T, Ashworth M and Owens CM. Interstitial Lung Disease in Children Made Easier…well almost! Radiographics 2017. 37 (6) 1679-1703
• Han BK, Casey S, Witt D, Leipsic J, Crean A, Nicol E, Semple T, Shambrook J, Prakash A, Banka P, Garberich R, Rigsby C, Hvlacek A and Lesser J. Development of a Congential Cardiovascular Computed Tomography Imaging Registry: Rationale and Implementation. J Cardiovasc Comput Tomogr 2018; 12(3):263-266
• Joseph Jacob, Catherine M Owens, Alan S Brody, Thomas Semple, Tom A Watson, Alistair Calder, Pilar Garcia-Pena, Paolo Toma, Anand Devaraj, Henry Walton, Antonio Moreno-Galdo, Paul Aurora, Alexandra Rice, Timothy J Vece, Steve Cunningham, Andre Altmann, Athol U Wells, Andrew Nicholson and Andrew Bush. Evaluation of inter-observer variation for computed tomography identification of childhood interstitial lung disease. ERJ Open Res 2019; 5:00100-2019
• Semple T, Calder A, Owens CM and Padley S. Current and future approaches to large airways imaging in adults and children. Clinical Radiology 2017. 72(5): 356-374
• Shelmerdine S, Semple T, Wallis C, Aurora P, Moledina S, Ashworth M and Owens CM. Filamin A (FLNA) Mutation – A Newcomer to the Childhood Interstitial Lung Disease (ChILD) Classification. Pediatric pulmonology 2017. 52: 1306-1315.