Science Project Skelatal Scan

Defining the Scans: The Difference between CAT, MRI, DSR, PET, and Sonograms Research Paper by Glenn Kim Science A/B Mr. Kuhl February 22, 2010 If you’ve ever watched some television show about doctors and how they always use some kind of scan on their patients to figure out what happened to their treasured customers, have you ever wanted to know what they are or what they do? In this paper, not only will I be explaining what each of these scans do, but I will also go into more depth in each one. What are the advantages and disadvantages? What would a professional physician recommend? How do they know which scan to do at the right time? You will find everything you’ve asked for about CT (CAT), MRI, DSR, PET scans, and even sonograms in this research paper. A CT scan short for CAT scan is commonly used scanning machine and is basically a specialized type of X-ray. In order to scan the patient, he or she must lie down on a couch which slides into a circular opening in the scanning machine. The part of the machine that takes pictures of x-rays revolves around the patient and a computer, separate from the machine, collects the data. Each x-ray looks like a “slice” of different parts of the patient’s body. CT scans could be used to locate many things within brains and other internal organs or structures, such as tumors, swollen parts of the brain, though there are little problems. These scans, though, cannot just see everything inside the brain as clear as day most of the time. Sometimes it needs a few other things to make it easier to find certain flaws inside a patient’s brain. One of these materials used to help CT scans are called contrast agents, which makes it easier for the CT scan to locate and see tumors clearly as they can be very dangerous to the human brain. However, there are some rare risks involved in using contrast agents, so if you’re about to get scanned by a CT scan using them, you might want to contact your doctor first. CT scans are definitely recommended by most physicians when imaging bone structures. It is also around 90% the imaging choice if looking into the inner ears (the percentage is a rough guess but it’s fairly accurate) and is used most of the time to detect tumors within the auditory canals and can demonstrate the cochlea on almost all patients. The MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is fairly different from the CT scans. For starters, they are not x-rays; the machine is very similar to CT scans but it acts differently. Unlike CT scans, MRI’s use magnets and radio waves to create images of the inside of the body. To do this, the patient lies on a couch similar to the CT that slides into a cylinder. After that, the patient must remain perfectly still. Strangely enough, the machine produces a large amount of noise while it’s collecting data and when the patient is in the machine. These examinations usually take around 30 minutes, so it’s safe to say that MRI’s are probably not recommended for most claustrophobic patients. MRI’s use a fancy method to collect data. These scanners can do this because they’re basically very large cylinder-shaped magnets. The MRI’s will send radio waves to a patient’s body. Why? This is because the computer is now able to grab signals replied by the body’s hydrogen atoms, which are located in your cells. These signals are put through an antenna that is then sent to a computer to be put in image form. The pictures are very similar to a CT’s picture, but the MRI’s image is generally better in quality among the soft tissues. You may think that an MRI is better than a CT scan, but remember that MRI’s take usually about 30 minutes to collect and record accurate data and they do not take very good images of bones. There are still more differences between MRI’s and CT scans, and good ones too. One great advantage is that MRI’s can change the contrast of the images these scans make. This makes it ten times easier to spot flaws within the brain and other places to. For example, if a doctor suspected that there might be something in the right side of a patient’s brain while using a CT scan, he or she could change the color or contrast different from its surroundings so that problems that could have been easily missed stand out more. Another advantage is that MRI’s can take images of a certain part of the body in different angles (as a 2-D image) without moving the patient. For example, if a doctor of some sort had an image of a slice of a person’s head but wanted a bird’s eye view image, he or she could do that without disturbing the patient. This is a characteristic that CT scans don’t have. CT scans are not the only scans that can use materials like contrast agents. In fact, MRI’s can also use contrast agents, but there are a few differences when it used in MRI’s. Unlike contrast agents when used on CT scans, these materials are compatible to use on MRI’s without including iodine, a necessary material when using contrast agents on CT’s. Compared to CT scans, there are fewer risks concerning on using contrast agents on MRI’s. Nonetheless, something bad could still happen so you should still contact your doctor if planning to use MRI’s as well. DSR (Dynamic Spatial Reconstructor) is actually another variation of CT scans, but it’s a lot more complicated. In fact, it’s so complicated that this scanner is very pricey and large. Because of that only one exists in the world, and it’s in the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota). According to www.healthline.com, “the physical machine comprises [of] a gantry 15 ft (4.57 m) in diameter and 20.5 ft (6.24 m) in length, weighing about 17 U.S. tons, fourteen x-ray guns featured within a hemicylindrical arrangement (surrounding the patient or subject over-head and on the sides) and targeted at an adjacent hemicylindrical fluorescent screen, fourteen rotating two-dimensional television cameras and eight video disc recorders for recording the x-rays, [and] electronics and software algorithms for image acquisition” (Smith). Also according to www.healthline.com, “DSR is a unique computed tomography (CT)-based scanner valuable for three-dimensional imaging and visualization of high temporal resolution three-dimensional cardiac cycles. Developed in the 1970s and early 1980s, the DSR is the multi-source, multi-detector high speed synchronous 3D CT scanner for high temporal and spatial resolution scanning of the heart, lungs, and circulation” (Smith). Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of a DSR. Like I said, only one exists and it’s a prototype. Because of this, the Mayo Clinic strictly doesn’t make the machine available commercially. In the early stages of development, the DSR was originally built to detect deadly diseases like lung cancer and heart disease. Building this scanner was not an easy task. To be able to do as the creators pleased, the DSR had to be non-invasive yet be able to use the methods of CT scanning to create detailed 3D images of moving organs or other objects within the human body. One example is that to be able to detect heart disease the DSR has to create 3D images of a moving heart. Today, it is used for not only for lung cancer and heart disease, but also for any other disease that might need 3D imaging to help see problems inside the human body because of its high-rated efficiency of 3D images. Of course, since the DSR is a prototype, doctors and physicians use normal scans or other types of machinery and only use the DSR for emergencies to avoid the risk of breaking this hi-tech device. PET (Positron emission tomography) scans are a little different from the others. This is because it is a type of nuclear medicine imaging. Nuclear medicine is a group of medicines that use some parts of radioactive material to diagnose or treat many types of damaging diseases. As dangerous this may seem, these scans are non-invasive and usually painless. The PET scans use either radiopharmaceuticals or radiotracers to get images within the body. Radiotracers can be inserted in different ways into the body, but this really depends on what kind of diagnose you’re taking. Once the radiotracer is injected or inserted, it travels to the organ it’s focusing on and then sends gamma rays which are then sent to a gamma camera, then to the PET scanner. Computers associated with the PET scanners produce images that show detailed information about on both structure and function of organs and tissues. On top of that, PET scans can measure functions in the body that are important for diagnosing such as blood flow, oxygen use, and so on. ,[object Object],Sonograms are probably one of the simplest scanners. It is completely painless and non-invasive, yet you could find a lot of information about different things within the body. It’s commonly used for mostly pregnancy. Sonograms are one of the scanners that use sound waves to create images. An object called a transducer is carried along the body, usually around the stomach when it comes to pregnancy. The transducer produces sound waves that bounce off the intended organ or other body parts back into the transducer. This information is sent to a computer which shows images of what is happening in the interior parts of the patient. So why are Sonograms so helpful? The reason is that it’s very important for the birth of a child. First of all, it can show information that X-rays can’t detect. Second of all, it is completely non-invasive and painless in literally every way possible. Third (and most importantly), in cases of pregnancy, doctors are able to see the internal parts of the body where a baby is being held and ensure the baby’s and mother’s safety and prepare faster in every way possible. Sonograms can also help cure the causes of pelvic bleeding and discomfort. As you can see, different scanners are more advantageous than others or produce less discomfort. However, these scanners have helped the lives of many in the most common causes are in the brinks of death. MRI, CT, DSR, PET, and sonograms have been so helpful to the human world against diseases, that it’s still being used today and will be for years to come. Bibliography: quot;
The Difference Between MRI & CT (CAT Scans)quot;
. The Listen-Up Web!. 2/22/10 http://www.listen-up.org/med/ct_mri.htm B. Hoch, Daniel. quot;
CT Scan of the Brainquot;
. Medline Plus. 2/22/10 http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/images/ency/fullsize/19237.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/19237.htm&usg=__q4zFOseMdrVG8hb-FW7t_D0hrn8=&h=320&w=400&sz=31&hl=en&start=10&itbs=1&tbnid=xzMYFTUKhPdv2M:&tbnh=99&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3DCAT%2Bscan%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1 Crosby Web Design. 2/22/10 http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://webcrosby.com/Piper/Pictures/2005/Sonograms/Baby%2520Sonogram%252012.jpg&imgrefurl=http://webcrosby.com/Piper/Sonograms.htm&usg=__j7oNdxkMDjEc4KshAaB0rnD1vjs=&h=449&w=576&sz=53&hl=en&start=14&itbs=1&tbnid=vFcNNqf8VTdCqM:&tbnh=104&tbnw=134&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsonograms%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1 Smith, Bryan R. quot;
Dynamic Spatial Reconstructor Information on Healthline.quot;
Health Search Engine and Free Medical Information - Healthline. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/dynamic-spatial-reconstructor quot;
Nuclear Medicine, PET.quot;
RadiologyInfo - The radiology information resource for patients. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=PET G, Deborah N. quot;
What is a Sonogram?quot;
WiseGEEK: clear answers for common questions. Web. 28 Feb. 2010. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-sonogram.htm

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