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CAT Scanning. The Best in Early Diagnostics? The modern medicine has gone through many stages during its evolution. If we are to ask any doctor what is the most important thing during medication, most of the times we will get a single answer: the timely and correct diagnosis.
The history of diagnosis begins with the simplest visual check and cardiogram, and nowadays continues with sophisticated ultra-sound examinations and CAT Scanning. Currently CAT Scan is the most advanced method of diagnostics for many diseases. A CAT Scan or CT Scan is also known as a computed axial tomography. The CT Scan is a technique that allows relatively safe, painless, and rapid diagnosis in previously inaccessible areas of the body. Computer tomography scans are completed with the use f a 360 -degree x-ray beam and computer production f images.
An X-ray tube, rotating around a specific area of the body, delivers an appropriate amount of X radiation for the tissue being studied. It then takes pictures of that part of the internal anatomy from different angles. The CT Scan creates a type of X-ray that uses a computer to produce detailed cross-sectional images of the body. A computer program is then used to form a composite, a readable image. The images are then assembled in a computer into a three-dimensional picture that can display organs, bones, blood, and soft tissues in great detail.
Scan images can be processed by optical, photographic, and electronic means, but image processing using digital computers is the most common method because digital methods are fast, flexible, and precise. The sensor signal from the CAT Scan is "digitized" - converted to an array of numerical values, each value representing the light intensity of a small area of the scene. The digitized values are called picture elements, or "pixels, " and are stored in computer memory as digital images. In the future, Electro-optical and some analog image-processing methods may be commonly used (How CAT Scans Work).
A CT Scan can take 10 minutes to about an hour depending on the area of the body to be examined. CT Scans are done in various parts of the body. For example, CT Scans can be done in the pulmonary area to check for fluid (pulmonary edema), which could be a sign of congestive heart failure. CT Scans may also be done on the head for emergency treatment for a stroke. A scan of the back would show any problems with bulging or herniated discs (CAT Scans).
Also, a CT Scan may be done to assess for tumors or other disorders in other areas of the body. There are some precautions to consider before a CT Scan exam can be administered. Since the CT Scan uses X-rays, pregnant women should not have an abdominal or chest CT Scan done. During the exam the physician will need to use a special dye, so the patient should report any history of blood clotting or allergic reactions to iodine, shellfish (crab or shrimp) or strawberries to the physician before the exam. There are different methods of preparation depending on the type of CT Scan performed. For a CT Scan performed on the head there is no preparation unless a contrast medium is ordered, then you should not eat or drink for four to six hours before the exam.
A contrast medium is a special dye called dilute barium; which is given intravenously. When a chest CT Scan is done it is necessary to have a chest X-ray done one month prior to your CT Scan exam. Also, the patient must not eat or drink anything for 4 to 6 hours before the examination. For a CT Scan of the abdomen or pelvis area the patient is asked not to eat or drink anything after midnight the night before the CT Scan. In some instances the patient will be given barium to take home with them. One bottle is to be taken the night before the exam and the other should to be taken one hour prior to the exam (Kevles, 37).
When the patient arrives to have a CT Scan done they will be asked to remove eyeglasses, all jewelry and any clothing that might interfere with the scan. For specific areas of the body scanned the nurse or technician will perform different preparations before the exam. During the CT Scan the patient will be asked to lie down on a scanning table, which slides slowly into a short, open-ended tunnel. The patient will be asked to lie very still and to follow the instructions of the nurse or technician while the scan is being performed. When the scan is finished a radiologist will interpret the pictures and the finding will be reported to the physician. The recently increasing popularity of CAT Scanning is appealing to more and more people of the developed counties.
The number f people willing t pay $ 300 t $ 600 t have their heart and lungs vetted, and up t $ 1, 000 fr it neck-t-grin scan is constantly growing. CAT Scanning is now developing in some sort of business. However, the start-up cost of the enterprise is very high. One computed axial tomography machine currently cost approximately one to two million dollars. Still, this method of diagnosis and prophylactics will be getting only more popular. The recent study has shown that large corporations prefer to examine their employees using CAT Scanning, other than any alternative method of diagnostics.
Though scanning is a costly procedure, the early diagnosis allows the companies t avid the insurance-mandated discounts and authorization hassles that ther medical procedures involve. Corporations sponsor more than 60 % of patients who submit to scans at the medical institutions (Torres, 63). The popularity of CAT Scans is also growing due to its PR campaigns among the Hollywood and music celebrities. Adding t the help are celebrities, such as plan Winfrey and free senate Paul Sign, each f whm recently underwent a high-profile scan. In the latter case the early diagnosis allowed the patient t bypass surgery. But sme dctr's and professional grup's, including the American College f Radilgy and the National Cancer Institute, caution that CAT scans performed with sufficient cause can be misleading and may result in unnecessary, and sometimes dangerous, procedures.
N ne disputes that CAT scans are a vast improvement ver conventional X-rays. Unlike aim-and-sht X-rays, which price flat pictures, mechanical CAT scanners rate and the by and reconfigure the data by computer int clear, three-dimensional images f internal rank. S-called spiral CATs, introduced within the past fur years, me several detectors simultaneously and collect data eight t ten times faster than earlier CATs. Faster yet is electric-beam tomography (EBT), a stationary technology that products images in ne-twentieth f a send. Sme experts believe that the superfast EBT scan, made by San Francisco-based Imatrn, is superior t ther scanners fr picturing rank that me, such as the heart (Kevles, 45).
Even though the machines are different in the principle f working, bth spiral CAT and EBT d a decent jb f detecting canary calcium, considered a marker fr the fatty plaque that leads t heart attacks. T heretically, a high calcium site would alert the patient t disease in time t make changes in the medication, diet and exercise, r even t pursue surgery. But dctr's acknowledge that the presence f canary calcium - which increases with age - may als car in people whse canary arteries are reasonably clear. Sometimes the ver-diagnosis can car. Meter, because scanners dn't measure fatty plaque directly, a lw site does't always rule ut heart disease.
T avid misreading the practitioners consider calcium scre's in the content f several risk factors, including family history, bld pressure and chester levels (Tenenbaum, 62). Nonetheless, many practitioners believe that a heart scan can provide valuable information when results f preliminary tests are unclear. Fr instance, the American College f Radilgy and the American Heart Association recently stated that CAT scans help guide treatment fr patients with slightly elevated chester and bld pressure, and a family history f heart disease. But in the same statement, the grup's declined t recommend the scans fr widespread use. Aside frm heart scans, hospitals and preventive clinics are als vigorously pricing CAT scans t screen fr ther diseases, including lung, kidney and sometimes cln cancer. S-called full-by scans nt nly explore canary arteries but als seek ut tiny, potentially malignant times in the lungs and admin.
Because f their sensitivity, CAT scans are particularly appealing fr detecting lung cancer, which remains the leading cause f cancer-related death. Mst people have nly a 13 % chance f survival fr five years with a diagnosis f lung cancer, " says date Cper f Cper Clinic in Santa Monica, California. "If we could pick it up earlier, we might be able t save their lives. " (Terms, 87) f the 22, 000 scans performed ver the past several years at the Cper Clinic, six revealed times that pre malignant in patients whse chest X-rays had nt she any signs f disease. ne problem is that CAT scans als pick up times and ther anomalies that never lead t illness. Fr example, a bld vessel may shw a spt that lks like a cancer growth but is in fact a benign nude.
In fact, up t 40 % f CAT scans f smokers shw abnormalities that aren't cancer. T add t the uncertainty, researchers aren't even sure that early screening improve uncles. The May Lung Project recently reported that in a 20 -year study using chest X-rays t screen smokers fr lung cancer, nt nly did the screenings result in ver-diagnosis but they als failed t reduce the number f deaths. The American College f Radilgy recently expressed similar concerns abut CAT screening, citing a potential fr unnecessary full-up treatment: "There is n evidence that that-by CAT screening is cst-effective r is effective in printing life. " (Kevles, 88) ver-diagnosing lung cancer is ne problem with CAT scans; under-diagnosing certain ther diseases is anther.
The scans are less effective than ther tests in screening fr breast and private cancer, and they dn't pick up cln cancer unless it's s big it's virtually ut f the bag and ready t spread. Despite such caveats, critics f wholesale screening recognize that spending several hundred bucks fr peace f mind is ultimately the patient's click, nt the date's. But the patient can make a better-informed decision if he is t discuss up from hw his date will use the resulting data. Fr example, if the patent is already n medication t lower LDL chester (r if his LDL chester is very lw), there's n possible information r benefit that the heart scan could provide. Similarly, a date may decide that CAT results with symptoms are t inconclusive t call fr treatment, r may want t full up with mre tests. Such tests are generally covered by insurance if a date deems them necessary fr a definitive diagnosis.
If the patient is t decide t pursue a scan, he should nt rely n advertising t research the facility. Just like any ther service, the buyer has t be sure f the credentials f the people and the quality f the imaging that's being. Fr heart scans, lk fr a practice whse cardiologists r diagnostic radiologists have a brad range f experience. If the patient is interested in having a full-by scan, he has t make sure the American Bard f Internal Medicine certifies the physician.
The specialists recommend asking the primary-care physician fr necessary recommendations. Finally, the perspective patients should always keep in mind that unlike mammography, fr which federal and professional standards have been set, the CAT Scan screening places are fr the mst part unregulated. The customer should be aware that he is buying a service upside the normal health care environment. Currently clinics utilizing CAT Scans are really free t d whatever they want. Reference: Kevles, B. H.
Naked to the Bone: Medical Imaging in the Twentieth Century. Dublin: Dublin Publishers, 1997. Torres, Andrew M. A three-dimensional CT (CAT) scan. Journal of Modern Medicine, 73, p. 154 - 158, illus. , 14 ref. , January 2002. Tenenbaum, Shemesh J.
Coronary calcium as a reliable tool for differentiating ischemic from non ischemic cardiomyopathy. Cardiac Rehabilitation Institute, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Has homer, Israel. How CAT Scans work. web Nov, 16, 2003. CAT Scans. web Nov, 16, 2003.
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Research essay sample on Cat Scanning The Best In Early Diagnostics
