CT Imaging offered from NWR

What is CT Scanning?

Computed tomography (CT) scans are safe, quick and painless.  Today’s radiographic technology allows for high resolution images with extremely low doses of radiation.  The amount of radiation used provides much greater benefits than risks.  For example, a patient undergoing a chest x-ray will receive less radiation than he would from flying on an airplane across the country.

CT scans give physicians the capability to see more details than conventional x-rays.  The procedure uses x-ray technology to produce a three-dimensional image of a cross-section of your body.  A conventional x-ray produces a two-dimensional image of an entire body area, such as an arm, leg, torso or breast.

CT scans can:

• Provide early diagnosis of diseases in their most curable stages
• Improve the accuracy of a diagnosis through more detailed views
• Examine the brain, typically a difficult area to study
• Detect enlarged lymph nodes, lung cancer,  back problems and organ diseases, such as pancreatic disease
• In some situations, reduce the need for exploratory surgery and other diagnostic procedures, which might have associated risks
• Accommodate larger patients on our scanning table, rated for higher weight support

CT imaging is used to perform a variety of exams, including bone density studies for osteoporosis, limited sinuses, chest, abdomen and brain.

What to Expect

Your CT scan will take approximately one-half hour.  The technologist will help position you on a padded table, which is part of the CT scanner.  It is especially important that you do not move while the scan is being taken.  Otherwise, you may need to undergo the procedure again.  The number of pictures taken varies, according to the body part being examined.

The table you will lie on will be positioned to move inside a large ring, called a gantry.  After the procedure begins, the table will move a small distance every few minutes, as a new image is taken.  You will hear sounds of gears and motors as you move through the gantry, signaling the imaging process is in operation. 

An x-ray tube inside this gantry will focus a narrow beam of x-rays across a slice of your body.  Receptors, also inside the gantry, will relay x-ray information to a computer.  The x-ray tube will rotate around the body, while scanning it. 

A computer will analyze the receptor’s readings and then convert this information into an image on a video screen.  A Northwest Radiology board certified physician, trained in computed tomography, will study this image and determine if more tests are needed.

Northwest Radiology has multi-slice CT for superior imaging quality and faster scanning time.

This CT provides remarkable speed and image quality in routine imaging.