Medical Imaging Procedures

Posted by numericalchaos , Friday, July 2, 2010 11:12 PM

Various imaging procedures are used in assessment of normal and pathological conditions.

1. X-rays : The earliest medical imaging procedure first done by Roentgen when he took a radiograph of his wife's hand.

There are a number of modern variations of the radiograph procedure modified to suit the conditions of the structures to be analysed. The commonest examples are barium contrast & double contrast studies involving both barium sulfate & air, intravascular radiography using iodine contrast media, and urography. Subtraction angiogrphy is another modified radiographic procedure done to study the coronary vessels.

2. Ultrasound & Ultrasonography : The preferred choice for fetal imaging procedures.

3. Computed Tomography : Invented by Godfrey Hounsfield in 1979, which involves taking a series of images in axial plane by passing the body through a tunnel which emits X-rays.

4. Magnetic Resonance Imaging : Wherein the body is subjected to a magnetic field and the effect of this field on hydrogen protons is studied to obtain images of various structures, a procedure particularly used widely in brain studies.

5. Nuclear Medicine Imaging : Which uses gamma rays instead of x-rays, with the most common radionuclide used to generate gamma rays being technetium 99m.

6. Positron Emission Tomography : A special procedure which involves detecting positron emitting radionuclides, the commonest used being fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). These studies have become highly important in cancer management.

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