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General Radiography
Diagnostic Radiology offers
many exams for virtually any part of the body. These exams are performed in an
X-ray room and may consist of images of the chest, abdomen, skull, spine or
extremities. At the time of the exam you will be asked to sit or lie on an
X-ray table, and a technologist will position an X-ray machine over the part
that is affected.
Fluoroscopy
Fluoroscopy is the method
that provides real-time X ray imaging that is especially useful for guiding a
variety of diagnostic and interventional procedures. The ability of fluoroscopy
to display motion is provided by a continuous series of images produced at a
maximum rate of 25-30 complete images per second. This is similar to the way
conventional television or video transmits images.
Computed Tomography
Computed tomography (CT)
scanning, also called computerized axial tomography (CAT) scanning, is a
medical imaging procedure that uses x-rays to show cross-sectional images of
the body.
A CT imaging system
produces cross-sectional images or "slices" of areas of the body,
like the slices in a loaf of bread. These cross-sectional images are used for a
variety of diagnostic purposes.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(MRI)
Magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) is an exam that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to
make pictures of organs and structures inside the body. In many cases MRI gives
different information about structures in the body than can be seen with an
X-ray, ultrasound, or computed tomography (CT) scan.
MRI also may show problems
that cannot be seen with other imaging methods.
Nuclear medicine
Is a branch or specialty of
medicine and medical imaging that uses radionuclides and relies on the process
of radioactive decay in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.
In nuclear medicine
procedures, elemental radionuclides are combined with other elements to form
chemical compounds, or else combined with existing pharmaceutical compounds, to
form radiopharmaceuticals. These radiopharmaceuticals, once administered to the
patient, can localize to specific organs or cellular receptors. This property
of radiopharmaceuticals allows nuclear medicine the ability to image the extent
of a disease-process in the body, based on the cellular function and
physiology, rather than relying on physical changes in the tissue anatomy. In
some diseases nuclear medicine studies can identify medical problems at an
earlier stage than other diagnostic exams.
Ultrasound
An ultrasound scan is a
painless exam that uses sound waves to create images of organs and structures
inside your body. It is a very commonly used exam. As it uses sound waves and
not radiation, it is thought to be harmless.
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