Diagnostic imaging is a technology that physicians utilize to look inside your body to discover more or help to diagnose certain medical conditions. There are numerous machines and techniques capable of creating pictures of the structures and activities inside your body.
Types of Diagnostic Imaging Applications Include• X-rays
• CT Scans
• Nuclear Medicine Scans
• MRI Scans
• Ultrasound
Diagnostic imaging testing is usually simple and pain free. Some applications require that you stay still for a long period of time inside the machine and this can be uncomfortable. And other testing procedures involve radiation, which are considered relatively safe because the dosage is very low.
For some imaging tests, a tiny camera attached to a long, thin tube, called a scope, is inserted in your body. Your physician will move the scope through a body passageway or opening to see inside a particular organ, such as your heart, lungs or colon. In these instances, anesthesia is most often required.
Diagnostic imaging procedures can help to narrow the causes of an injury or illness and make certain that the diagnosis is precise, allowing your doctor to determine if there are any abnormalities.
X-raysX-rays or radiographs are the most common and widely available diagnostic imaging application. In most cases an X-ray is taken first, even if you need more in depth testing performed.
In most cases, you are X-rayed from several angles. If you have a fracture in your arm, you may have an X-ray taken of the uninjured arm so that your doctor can compare the two. An X-ray usually takes only a few minutes to perform and the images are ready pretty quickly.
X-rays do not always show as intense or precise detail as an image produced using newer, more powerful techniques.
