Radiology Technology & Procedures

Using the Latest in Science and Technology 

At St. Charles, we use advanced technology and procedures to help your doctor “see” your condition to give you the right treatment. The latest technology produces clear digital images, and sometimes even movies, of organs, bones, tissues and the tiniest of cells – affording us a look at the most microscopic abnormality. In some cases, radiology is also part of the treatment using guided imaging equipment to perform a procedure rather than having an operation.

Today, radiology is much more than just an X-ray. We still use X-ray in our diagnostic process, but we also use the very latest technology using sound waves, radio waves, magnetic fields, gamma rays, contrast fluids, low-dose radioactive tracer fluids and guiding imaging instruments to help us detect, diagnose and perform some procedures.

Diagnostic Radiology

X-rays are the quickest, most common way for a physician to view joint and spine injuries or broken bones. X-rays record pictures of the extremities such as arms, legs, hands and feet, the chest and the abdomen.

Fluoroscopy exams are a diagnostic technique that uses a continuous beam of X-ray for live imaging to study moving body structures. The X-ray "movie" is transmitted to a video screen that allows the physician to review images of the body and its motion in greater detail.

Fluoroscopy exams may include barium enemas, imaging of the upper GI (gastrointestinal) track, and angiograms that use radiographic contrast. This is done either by a vascular injection or a liquid introduced into the GI tract which produces an image with more tissue and organ detail. Other procedures, such as hip pinnings or spinal fusions in the operating room, might use portable fluoroscopy.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a painless scanning procedure that uses no radiation. Instead, it uses a powerful magnetic field, radio waves and a computer to produce very detailed pictures of organs, soft tissues, bone and other internal body structures.

MRI is most commonly used for conditions like vascular disease, sports injuries, spine problems and heart disease because it can show the most subtle soft tissue abnormalities, detect the tiniest tears in ligaments and muscles and microscopic growths in the arteries.

We may advise against MRI procedures for some patients who have implanted metal materials, devices or objects because of risks associated with movement or dislodgment during MRI. However, most implants and objects today have been tested for MRI safety and compatibility. Most are held in place securely enough to prevent them from being moved or dislodged. However please make sure to let your ordering physician know if your have any implants.

The technologist will ask you to fill out a screening form prior to your MRI and can answer any questions you may have. Some of the most common reasons that you may not be able to have an MRI are if you have implanted electronic devices [cardiac pacemakers, Implanted Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICD), hearing devices], newly implanted coils, stents or filters.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound, also called sonography, uses high-frequency sound waves to create images from inside the body. The sound waves are reflected off of the body’s organs to create a "real-time" visual image that shows not only the structure, but movement inside the body, such as a baby in utero or blood flowing through blood vessels. Ultrasound is also used to guide needles for various invasive procedures like biopsies, aspirations or drainages.

CT

CT scan (Computed Tomography), also called a CAT scan (computed axial tomography), is usually a noninvasive, painless medical test that provides much clearer images than an X-ray. CT scans produce three-dimensional pictures of the inside body parts and then uses a computer to join them together in cross-sectional views of the area being studied. Because of this, a CT scan helps radiologists and physicians more easily diagnose problems such as cancers, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, trauma and musculoskeletal disorders.

PET/CT

PET (Positron Emission Tomography)/CT is considered by many experts to be a significant advance in cancer diagnosis and staging. The highly sensitive PET scan detects the metabolic signal that shows the energy of actively growing cancer cells in the body. The CT scan provides a detailed picture of their structure such as the location, size and shape of abnormal cancerous growths.

Alone, each imaging test produces important but different and sometimes limited information. But when the results of PET and CT scans are "fused" together, the combined image provides complete information about where the cancer is, how big it is and how fast it’s growing.

Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear medicine procedures are safe, effective and painless. Radioactive substances are injected, inhaled or swallowed and the gamma rays are captured and used to produce images of the body. The images show both the physiology (functioning) and the anatomy (structure or parts) of the body to help diagnose and treat disease. Nuclear medicine provides “molecular imaging” because it produces images that show biological processes that are happening at the cellular level.

Registered Radiology Nurses

Registered Radiology Nurses (RNs) are on staff during the day to assist with patient care and special needs. Radiology RNs are specially trained in radiology procedures and can assess and respond to emergency situations should they arise during your visit. They are also present any time a patient is under sedation and during invasive procedures, such as biopsies.

If you are going to have an invasive radiology exam or procedure at St. Charles, the RN will personally call you at home to get your health history and list of medications that you're currently taking and answer any questions you may have. If you do not receive a phone call, please bring an updated list of the medications you take at home (including over-the-counter drugs) with you to your appointment at the hospital.

Interventional Radiology

Interventional radiology (IR) is different from most other types of radiology because it can be used for both diagnostic and therapeutic treatment. Using live guided imaging scans and devices, IR procedures can be used instead of the more invasive surgical incision.

These cutting-edge procedures are usually easier for the patient because there is less pain, no incision, no general anesthesia, less risk, cost and have a much shorter recovery time than traditional surgery.

Interventional radiologists use their expertise in reading X-rays, ultrasound and other medical images to guide small instruments, such as catheters (tubes that measure just a few millimeters in diameter), through the blood vessels or other pathways. This enables them to treat disease through the skin instead of making large incisions.

Cardiac Catheterization

Cardiac catheterization is a procedure done on the heart where a long, thin, flexible tube called a catheter is put into a blood vessel in your neck, arm, upper thigh or groin and threaded to your heart. Through the catheter, doctors can perform diagnostic tests and treatments on your heart, such as checking for plaque build up in the arteries, blood flow and blood pressure in the chambers of the heart and defects in the way the walls of the heart move.