Technology
RADIOLOGY/FLUOROSCOPY
ULTRASOUND
CT / FLASH CT SCAN
CT or CAT scan; Computed axial tomography (CAT) scans are special X-ray tests that produce cross-sectional images of the body using X-rays and a computer. These images allow the radiologist, a medical doctor who specializes in interpreting images of the body, to look at the inside of the body. This type of special X-ray, in a sense, takes pictures of slices of the body so the doctor can look right at the area of interest. The CT scanner looks like a large doughnut with a narrow table in the middle. Due to the speed of this advanced imaging procedure, claustrophobia symptoms tend to not be an issue. Patients are not placed inside a tunnel; but rather moved in and out of the opening as the scanner takes the pictures. Depending on the exam you are having, you will lie on your back or stomach and move through the scanner either head first or feet first.
Boca Regional the first hospital in South Florida to offer patients “Flash CT,” which reduces imaging time to three to four seconds and radiation exposure up to 90 percent.
MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive way to image the body. Unlike X-rays and computed tomographic (CT) scans, which use radiation, MRI uses powerful magnets and radio waves to create images. The magnetic field forces hydrogen atoms in the body to line up in a certain way (similar to how the needle on a compass moves when you hold it near a magnet). When radio waves are sent toward the lined-up hydrogen atoms, they bounce back, and a computer records the signal. Different types of tissues send back different signals. For example, healthy tissue sends back a slightly different signal than abnormal tissue. Single MRI images are called slices. The images can be stored on a computer or burned on a CD.
Boca Regional offers the most advanced imaging available including 3T and open-bore MRIs.
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
Nuclear medicine uses radioactive substances to image the body and treat disease. It looks at both the physiology (functioning) and the anatomy of the body in establishing diagnosis and treatment.
Nuclear medicine imaging techniques give doctors another way to look inside the human body. The techniques combine the use of computers, detectors, and radioactive substances. These techniques include:
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Positron emission tomography (PET)
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Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)
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Cardiovascular imaging
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Bone scanning
All of these techniques use different properties of radioactive elements to create an image.
POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY (PET) / (CT)
SPECT, CARDIOVASCULAR IMAGING AND BONE SCANNING
SPECT is a technique similar to PET. SPECT can provide information about blood flow and the distribution of radioactive substances in the body.
Cardiovascular imaging techniques use radioactive substances to chart the flow of blood through the heart and blood vessels. One example of a cardiovascular imaging technique is a stress thallium test, in which the patient is injected with a radioactive thallium compound, exercised on a treadmill, and imaged with a gamma ray camera. After a period of rest, the study is repeated without the exercise. The images before and after exercising are compared to reveal changes in blood flow to the working heart. These techniques are useful in detecting blocked arteries or arterioles in the heart and other tissues. Your cardiologist is required to be present during the exercise portion of the test.
Bone scanning detects radiation from a radioactive substance that, when injected into the body, collects in bone. The substance accumulates in areas of high metabolic activity, and so the image produced shows "bright spots" of high activity. Bone scanning is useful for detecting tumors, fractures, and infections, which generally have high metabolic activity.
In nuclear medicine imaging tests, injected radioactive substances do not harm the body. The radioisotopes used in nuclear medicine decay quickly, in minutes to hours, have lower radiation levels than a typical X-ray or CT scan, and are eliminated in the urine or bowel movement