Transcript Radiology
Introduction Radiology is the branch of medicine that deals with imaging technology for diagnosing and treating illness and disease. It includes X-Rays, MRIs, CT scans, PET scans, Ultrasound and Nuclear Imaging. X-Rays Radiographs are the pictures created once X-Rays are passed through a patient and captured on photographic film. The X-Ray process is extremely inefficient as much of the energy is actually lost as heat. X-Rays Wilhelm Rontgen discovered X-Rays on November 8th, 1895 at Wolfsburg University in Germany. He called the radiation he discovered X-radiation because he did not know its origin. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery. X-Rays Rontgen discovered that X-Rays could have a benefit to the medical community when he saw a picture of his wife’s hand on a photographic plate after being exposed to X-Rays. X-Rays We are a little more careful today with our use of Xrays. X-rays are a high energy radiation and the patient is required to wear a lead lined apron covering the parts of their body not to be X-rayed to prevent cell damage. There is also a limit to how much radiation a patient (and a technologist) can be exposed to. X-Ray Procedure 1) The technologist aims the X-ray generator at the patient. 2) X-rays are sent through the patient and captured on a film plate. 3) The film is developed and the results are analyzed. X-Rays Nowadays some hospitals have redefined the capture screen for x-rays so that the image is produced on a computer screen. However, the “old” method is still the first one chosen for any suspected lung, heart or skeletal abnormalities. Ultrasound Ultrasound is cyclic sound pressure above the limits of human hearing. The medical applications are called ultrasonography of which, developing a picture of a fetus in the womb is the most well-known. Ultrasound Sonography is deemed safe, because it does not use radiation. The quality of the images of ultrasound is based mainly on the skill or the performing technician (sonographer). Ultrasound It is used primarily to look at soft tissues, because it cannot pass through air spaces in the body (i.e. lungs, bone, bowels…) Ultrasound The main use of ultrasound is in examining fetal development. Many problems can be detected early and corrected. Ultrasound Other uses of ultrasound include monitoring of soft tissue injuries to important organs such as the liver, kidneys and spleen, where a bleed out can lead to severe problems including death! Ultrasound There have been studies done on cattle that have shown that exposure to more than 30 minutes of ultrasound may lead to cell damage. Thankfully, most procedures take between 10-30 minutes. Homework What is radiology? Provide three examples. 2. Compare Ultrasound technology and X-ray technology in terms of safety, what they can diagnose and ease of use. 3. Describe three injuries/diseases that would be easy to diagnose with X-Rays. 4. Describe three areas of the body that ultrasound could be used to check for injury/disease. 1.