CT SCAN HOSPITAL

What is a CT Scan? - Procedures, Risks & Results

A computed tomography (CT or CAT) scan allows doctors to examine your body from inside. It uses a combination of X-rays and a computer to make images of your bones, organs, and other tissues. It gives you more information than a common X-ray. You can get a CT scan on any organ of your body. The process doesn't take very long, and it's painless.

HOW DO CT SCANS WORKS?

They use a narrow X-ray beam that points out one part of your body. This provides a series of pictures from many different positions. A computer uses detail to create a cross-sectional image. Like one piece in a loaf of bread, this two-dimensional (2D) scan provides a slice of the inside of your body.

This process is repeated to produce a number of slices. The computer arranges these scans one on top of the other to make a detailed image of your parts, bones, or blood vessels. For example, a surgeon may use this type of scan to get to prepare for the surgery. A CT scan can be used to visualize:

HeartHeadSpineAbdomenKneeChestShouldersPROCEDURE TO PERFORM CT SCAN

CT scanners look like a large doughnut standing on its side. Patients lie on a narrow, motorized table that slides through the opening into a tunnel. Straps and pillows can be used to help you stay in that posture. During a head scan, the table may be fitted with a specific cradle that holds your head still.

While the table moves you into the scanner, detectors and the X-ray tube rotate around the patient. Each rotation provides several images of thin slices of your body. You may hear buzzing and whirring noises.

A technologist in a specific room can see and hear you. You can communicate with the technologist via intercom. The technologist can ask you to stop breathing at certain points to avoid blurring the images.