A division of medical imaging, diagnostic imaging involves a variety of body imaging techniques that are used in the diagnosis of a disease.  Images are obtained for several reasons including screening, to periodically monitor for the presence of a yet to be diagnosed or discovered disease. A diagnostic study could be ordered by your doctor to provide your doctor with additional information to help in the diagnosis of a disease, or to monitor an already diagnosed disease.

     There are many different forms of diagnostic imaging, each possessing different requirements from the patient.  While some may be performed without any patient preparation, other may involve the ingestion or injection of contrast material, a substance that allows certain body imaging techniques to have a clear focus on a particular part of the body.  

     While there are several different types of diagnostic imaging techniques, each has its own unique methods and purposes. When testing for a very specific disease, like cancer, diagnostic imaging can be used to determine the nature of abnormal growths or to help discover them.  There are currently diagnostic imaging services that use soundwaves, magnetic fields and radiowaves, x-rays, and radioactive tracer drugs.  If you have the symptoms of a medical condition, there is likely a form of diagnostic imaging that can help your doctor get more information, leading to a more accurate diagnosis and better treatment options.

     There are many body systems that are able to be evaluated with diagnostic imaging including the spine, the circulatory system, areas with an abnormal growth or tumor, and the bony skeleton.   The bony skeleton was the first system of the body that was able to be imaged.  Standard x-rays were the very first form of diagnostic imaging.  X-rays were discovered to have the capability to form images of the body's internal structures in the late 1800s, and after a large amount of research into the nature of the x-ray, it was adopted by the medical community to test the skeletal structure of the body, later advancing to other areas.  It was not until the later part of the 20th century when additional diagnostic imaging methods became available, including the use of multiple x-rays to create more complex images, the use of non-radiation based imaging methods, and the inception of contrast materials to expand the abilities of already existing technologies.

    The benefits of diagnostic imaging are vast.  Diagnostic imaging can increase the accuracy of doctors' diagnoses tremendously.  Before the adoption of common medical imaging methods and services, gaining information about the inside of the human body would oftern require much more invasive surgical techniques.  Now doctors can noninvasively get access to images of the internal structures of the human body.

The most common forms of diagnostic imaging include:

• Ultrasound - A diagnostic imaging technique that is commonly used on pregnant women, ultrasound can be used on many parts of the body to get a sonographic image of the internal structures.  An ultrasound machine consists of a transducer (the wand) and a computer.  The transducer is placed against the skin with the assistance of sound conductive gel, and it then emits sound waves into the body, reading their reflection back.  The data is then interpreted by the computer, constructing an image of that area of the body.
  
  
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging - The MRI, as it is more commonly called, is another form of body imaging, increasing in popularity.  MRIs function by using magnetic fields to align certain parts of the atoms in the body.  Radio waves are then sent through the atoms.  The MRI machine then reads the emission of the radio waves, creating one of the most detailed images of the human body you can get.
  
  
• PET Scan - Positon Emission Tomography is one of the most exciting nuclear medicine-based body imaging techniques, primarily in cancer imaging.  The patient is injected with a small amount of radioactive tracer material, then after the tracer has had the opportunity to travel through the body, a special type of diagnostic image is taken.  This image shows the metabolic reactions within the human body, allowing a more specific diagnosis of cancer in many cases.
  
  
• Computed Tomography -  The CT Scan is a common and close relative to the x-ray.  For this diagnostic imaging technique, several different x-rays are taken from multiple angles around the area being examined.  These images are then compiled by a computer, creating an accurate cross section of a specific part of the body.  ComputedTomography can even be used to create 3-D images of the body's internal structure.

Professional Radiology

Professional Radiology, Inc., offers image interpretation in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. They practice out of Christ Hospital, Jewish Hospital, Fort Hamilton Hospital, West Chester Medical Center and Butler County Imaging Center.

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