This document provides an introduction to diagnostic radiography. It discusses what diagnostic radiography is, the early history of radiography dating back to Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery of x-rays in 1895. It then describes several common diagnostic imaging modalities used today including conventional x-ray, fluoroscopy, ultrasound, CT scanning, and MRI. Each modality is briefly explained in terms of its benefits, risks, and applications. The document concludes with a short section on the history and current state of diagnostic radiography in Ghana.

1. INTRODUCTION TO
DIAGNOSTIC
RADIOGRAPHY
BY
MATHIAS DOMLAN

2. OUTLINE
• INTRODUCTION
•WHAT IS DIAGNOSTIC RADIOGRAPHY
• THE EARLY HISTORY OF RADIOGRAPHY
• DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING PROCEDURES AND
IMAGING MODALITIES
• DIAGNOSTIC RADIOGRAPHY IN GHANA

3. INTRODUCTION
• Every day, millions of people undergo imaging evaluations to assess a
wide range of medical conditions. When the power of imaging technology
is appropriately expanded, these studies yield a wealth of useful medical
information.
• Medical imaging remains one of the best ways to achieve complete
diagnoses by being able to see what’s going on inside the body without the
need for surgery or other invasive procedures.
• Medical imaging can be used for both diagnosis and therapeutic purposes,
making it one of our most powerful resources available to effectively care
for our patients

4. WHAT IS DIAGNOSTIC RADIOGRAPHY
Diagnostic Radiography is an
imaging technique that uses ionizing
or non-ionizing radiation to view
internal structures of the human
body for the diagnoses and
treatment of illness or injury
Diagnostic radiography is an
essential field in health care. It is
generally known as ‘the eye of
medicine’
Medical radiography acquisition is
generally carried out

5. HISTORY OF RADIOGRAPHY
• The origin of radiography can be traced to 8 November 1895,
when German physics professor Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
discovered the X-ray.
• Roentgen referred to the radiation as "X", to indicate that it was
an unknown type of radiation.
• Roentgen discovered X-rays' medical use when he made a
picture of his wife's hand on a photographic plate. The
photograph of his wife's hand was the first ever photograph of a
human body part using X-rays.
• The first use of X-rays under clinical conditions was by John
Hall-Edwards in Birmingham, England on 11 January 1896,
when he radiographed a needle stuck in the hand of an
associate

6. DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING MODALITIES
• Conventional X-ray
• Fluoroscopy
• Ultrasonography
• Computed Tomography
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging

7. CONVENTIONAL X RAY
• Conventional radiography is the most
commonly used and readily available
imaging method.
• For conventional radiography, an x-ray beam
is generated and passed through a patient to
a piece of film or a radiation detector,
producing an image.
• Images are produced on screens or on x-ray
films (radiographs) for diagnostic purposes.
• Conventional x ray imaging is mainly
implored for the examination of the skeletal,
abdominal and thoracic abnormalities

8. FLUOROSCOPY
• Fluoroscopy is a form of medical imaging
that produces real time images of body
structures.
• During a fluoroscopy procedure, an X-ray
beam is passed through the body. The image
is transmitted to a monitor so the movement
of a body part can be seen

9. FLUOROSCOPY
HISTORY
• Invented by Thomas A. Edison in 1896
• Conventional x ray radiography is restricted to
static patient examinations. If dynamic events
need to be studied such as movement of
contrast materials through gastrointestinal
tract (GIT) the image must be viewed directly
using a dynamic method
• The need for dynamic x-ray radiography led to
the birth of fluoroscopic imaging.

10. FLUOROSCOPY
Benefits/Risks
Fluoroscopy is used in a wide variety of examinations and
procedures to diagnose or treat patients. Some examples are:
• Barium X-rays and enemas (to view the gastrointestinal tract)
• Catheter insertion and manipulation (to direct the movement
of a catheter through blood vessels, bile ducts or the urinary
system)
• Placement of devices within the body, such as stents (to open
narrowed or blocked blood vessels)
• Angiograms (to visualize blood vessels and organs)
• Orthopedic surgery (to guide joint replacements and treatment
of fractures)
• Fluoroscopy is always performed with the lowest acceptable
exposure for the shortest time necessary to minimize radiation
risks.

11. ULTRASOUND IMAGING
• Diagnostic ultrasound imaging involves the
use of high frequency sound waves to view the
internal structures of the body.
• Ultrasound is the safest form of medical
imaging and has a wide range of applications.
• There are no harmful effects when using
ultrasound and it’s one of the most cost-
effective forms of medical imaging available.
• It is used to help diagnose the causes of pain,
swelling and infection in the internal organs
and to examine a baby in pregnant women and
the brain and hips in infants.
• It is also used to help guide biopsies,
diagnose heart conditions, and assess damage
after a heart attack.
• It operates on the principles of echo

12. ULTRASOUND
IMAGING
Benefits of diagnostic ultrasound
• This procedure requires little to no special
preparation of patient. It is useful in
emergency diagnoses.
• It is a non invasive procedure and generally
considered to be harmless hence its
application in obstetric scanning
• It is substantially lower in cost compared to
other imaging modalities
Limitations
• Ultrasound is not an ideal imaging technique
for air-filled bowel or organs obscured by the
bowel. In most cases, barium exams, CT
scanning, and MRI are the methods of choice
in such a setting
.

13. COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY SCANNING
• Tomos = Slice
• Tomography refers to the x-sectional imaging of
an object from either transmission or reflection
data obtained via illuminating the object from
many different directions.
• CT or ‘CAT’ scans are a form of X-ray that
creates a 3D picture for diagnosis.
• X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a well
accepted imaging modality for evaluation of the
entire body.
• Invented by Sir Godfrey Hounsfield in 1972

14. C T SCAN
• Computerized Tomography images provide more
detailed information than normal X-ray images.
They show the soft tissues, blood vessels, and
bones in various parts of the body.
Benefits/Risk
• diagnose infections, muscle disorders, and bone
fractures
• pinpoint the location of masses and tumors
(including cancer)
• study the blood vessels and other internal
structures
• assess the extent of internal injuries and internal
bleeding
• monitor the effectiveness of treatments for
certain medical conditions, including cancer and

15. MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
(MRI)
Commonly used to examine internal
body structures, to diagnose strokes,
tumors, spinal cord injuries,
aneurysms and brain function

16. MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a type of scan that uses strong magnetic fields
and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body.
• An MRI scanner is a large tube that contains powerful magnets. You lie inside the tube
during the scan.
• An MRI scan can be used to examine almost any part of the body, including the:
brain and spinal cord
bones and joints
breasts
heart and blood vessels
internal organs, such as the liver, womb or prostate gland
• The results of an MRI scan can be used to help diagnose conditions, plan treatments
and assess how effective previous treatment has been.

17. MRI SCAN
How MRI scan work
Most of the human body is made
up of water molecules, which
consist of hydrogen and oxygen
atoms.
Protons located in hydrogen
molecules are highly sensitive to
magnetic fields.
When you lie under the powerful
scanner magnets, the protons in
your body line up in the same
direction, in the same way that a
magnet can pull the needle of a
compass.
• When the radio waves are turned off,
the protons realign. This sends
out radio signals, which are picked
up by receivers.
• These signals provide information
about the exact location of the
protons in the body.
• They also help to distinguish
between the various types of tissue in
the body.
• In the same way that millions of
pixels on a computer screen can
create complex pictures, the signals
from the millions of protons in the

18. MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
Benefits and Limitations of MRI Scan
• MRI is a noninvasive imaging technique that
does not involve exposure to ionizing
radiation.
• An MRI scan is a painless and safe
procedure.
• MRI enables the discovery of abnormalities
that might be obscured by bone with other
imaging methods.
• A person who is very large may not fit into
the opening of certain types of MRI
machines.
• The presence of an implant or other metallic
object sometimes makes it difficult to obtain
clear images due to streak artifacts from the

19. DIAGNOSTIC RADIOGRAPHY IN GHANA
• The advent of radiological services in Ghana was barely thirty-two years after the
discovery of X-rays when Korle-Bu Hospital was built by the then colonial Governor,
Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg, precisely in 1927.
• The School of Allied Health Sciences of the University of Ghana since it’s inception in
2002 has been a major trainer of both therapy and diagnostic radiographers in Ghana
through the solid foundation laid by the older generation of radiographers.
• The department of Radiography of the School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences
is responsible for training professionals for world class professional practice of
radiography.
• Radiographers not only produce the images, but they have the additional
responsibilities of ensuring that what they produce provides the appropriate
information for the management of patients.
• They have to ensure that their clients go through the correct procedures, receive
quality care, protected from unnecessary irradiation, have the appropriate information
as to what examinations and procedures they will go through, and therefore provide
avenues for informed choices.
• Radiographers also are required to protect the clients’ rights as regards privacy and

20. THANK YOU