CT scans diagnose medical conditions quickly

Each month, The Gridley Herald will feature a different department of Biggs-Gridley Memorial Hospital to inform residents of what the local hospital has to offer in services. "Quality Health Care Close to Home" is the motto of the 48 bed facility, and one that the employees take pride in ensuring.

Computed Tomographic (CT) scanning is the use of slice-by-slice x-rays of the body used to visualize portions of the human body and is widely used at most hospitals throughout the country.

Sometimes called CAT scanning, the CT scan is a noninvasive test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions.

It is a combination of x-rays and computers to produce multiple images of the inside of the body, such as bones, soft tissues and the brain. Images can be either viewed on a computer or printed of the cross sectional images of the area.

The patient is placed on a table in the center of a circular opening in the CT machine. X-rays are passed through the patient's body from one edge of this ring to another in a 360 degree circle around the body.

Electrical impulses are generated which are then passed through a computer, which constructs a picture of a cross-section of the body and displays this on a monitor screen.

By commanding the computer to manipulate the electronic information it has accumulated, it is possible to look at organs of the body from several different directions, as if you were electronically turning the organ or body part in mid-air and looking at it from different angles.

CT scanning provides a number of marked improvements over previous methods of examining the human body. The first of these is that views of certain organs and tissues are available and can be obtained of any given "slice" of the body by utilizing the computer, and making certain types of tissue or certain aspects of the picture stand out more than would be possible otherwise.

These advances in imaging have made it possible to evaluate portions of the body which otherwise could not be examined adequately except by surgery in the past.

Many patients have been saved unnecessary exploratory surgery, and it has made it possible to be more precise in planning surgery by imaging the areas of abnormality more accurately, prior to the actual operation.

The CT Scanner not only helps make medical diagnosis and treatment more specific to the patient, but it also has a tendency to hold down medical costs when viewed as a whole, despite the high cost of CT equipment and the relatively higher cost of CT examinations over other types of diagnostic imaging.

It is a more detailed test for diagnosing tumors and measuring their size and depth within the body than conventional with x-rays.

CT scans can help look for signs of inflammation, disease or cancer and monitor many other health conditions.

Unless your doctor tells you to discontinue your medication for the procedure, medications can normally be taken as usual. An appointment letter will be given by your doctor with  instructions on how to prepare for the scan.

On the day of your CT scan, you must tell the radiographer of any medicines you are taking and if you have any allergies, glaucoma or heart disease. If you are a woman of childbearing age, you will be asked if you are pregnant.

Depending on the examination being done, a CT scan can take anywhere from ten to 30 minutes.

If you are having a head scan, you may be asked to remove contact lenses, dentures, hair clips and hearing aids. You may be asked to remove your jewelry and a wrist watch.

The radiologist, a doctor trained in reading CT scans, will examine the images. A report will be sent to the doctor who requested your test.

If someone comes through the ER after suffering a stroke, every minute counts. After a CT scan is performed, the patient is diagnosed and treated within minutes, administered anti-coagulant  before being flown out by airflight to a higher level of care.