CT Scans: What You Need to Know
You’ve likely heard of CT scans, or CAT
scans as they often are called. You
even may have experienced one.
Computed tomography is one of the
most used imaging techniques for diagnosing
an array of health conditions.
A CT scan sends a number of X-ray beams through your body while you lie still on a special table. The beams are collected in a detector that transmits the information to a computer. The result is a cross-sectional picture that looks like slices of the inside of your body. “Unlike the image from a standard two-dimensional X-ray, the multidimensional CT scan can show both bones and internal organs in detail,” said David Linkous, M.D., medical director of diagnostic imaging services at Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital.
Scans Detect Heart Disease and Cancer
Multislice scanners are extremely useful for looking at moving organs, such as the heart, and also can help spot tiny tumors or blood clots. They frequently are used to detect and monitor heart disease and cancer.Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital recently added a new 64-slice scanner, which produces extremely detailed images, speeding treatment for patients.
Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital also has a 40- slice CT scanner. This scanner has the largest diameter of any in the region, making it an option for larger patients.
New Scanner Allows Faster and More Accurate Diagnosis
Doctors use CT scans to look for a variety of conditions, including:- Internal injuries, bleeding and blood clots;
- muscle and bone problems, including fractures not visible on regular X-rays;
- brain dysfunction from stroke or other neurological conditions; and
- cancer.
