1 Intro to Medical Imaging Techiques Flashcards
Q: What is CT scanning? How?
A: computed tomography
-using x rays to produce cross sectional images of body
x ray tube spins around patient and detector spins around patient opposite the tube
-> computer performs calculations to produce cross-sectional map of tissue density -> get 2D / 3D map
Q: What id radiology called today?
A: diagnostic imaging
Q: What is interventional radiology? (2)
A: branch on imagining
-minimally invasive surgery carried out under X ray imaging guidance
Q: What is radiotherapy?
A: use of high energy x rays to treat cancer
-therapeutic
Q: What is a radiologist?
A: doctor specialising in interpretation of medical imaging
Q: What is a radiographer?
A: non medical person/ technician that takes images
Q: What are the 2 types of diagnostic imaging? Give examples (3,2).
A: ionising
- X ray
- computed tomography CT
- nuclear medicine
non ionising
- ultrasound
- magnetic resonance imaging MRI
Q: What is the problem with ionising radiation? (2)
A: risk of inducing cancer years after exposure
-higher risk if exposed before 30years hence try and limit use on children and young adults
Q: How does an x ray passing through the human body create an image?
A: -because of inherent contrast between different body parts
-if lots of x rays pass through=appear black and if not =appear white
- air= black
- fat= dark grey
- soft tissue= grey
- bone, calcium= white
- metal= really white
Q: What does a chest radiograph look like? (4)
A: -healthy lungs are composed mainly of air= very black
- mediastinal structures are made of soft tissue = grey
- air around patient= black
- bone=white
Q: What do bones look like on a radiograph?
A: centre= marrow= fat= darker than outside
outside= dense cortical area (outer shell) = white
Q: On a chest radiograph, what can X rays not distinguish between?
A: heart muscle, pericardium and blood inside heart
Q: How can inherent tissue contrast be improved?
A: administration of contrast agent
-enhance differences between tissues of similar densities
Q: Give 2 examples of contrast agents. How can they be given? (3)
A: -barium (swallow, through rectum)
-iodine (into artery or vein)
Q: What are CT windows? What do they allow us to see?(3)
A: we can choose which parts we want to emphasise
- soft tissue (muscles in chest wall and structures in mediastinum)
- bone (cortex and medulla of bone)
- lung (can see presence of cancer/pneumonia)