For this group project I have decided to choose a topic that is relevant to my major and to some of the classmates taking this course. Being that I graduated with a radiologic technology degree 14 years ago I have seen the advancements that took place in the healthcare industry with respect to Radiology. I have seen and encountered various advancements in the imaging industry with regards to radiologic modalities. The Radiology field it’s not just about simple x-rays yet it is a more evolving industry that transformed purely from basic diagnostic devices to more advanced interventional technologies that can be utilized to make diagnosis and plan therapies with greater precision than ever before.
Radiology employs the use of medical imaging to diagnose and treat nearly every type of disease and injury that exists. It is a vital part of the field of healthcare in that it improves the speed and accuracy of medical care. It is also critical to decreasing medical errors, patient recovery time and patient suffering. Advances in computer technology have given supercomputers-like power to high end CAT scans and MRIs systems. With the unfortunate rise in diseases and illnesses that we face today, not to mention the most common disease of cancer, doctors rely heavily on Radiology for assessment and treatment of a disease. Radiology is a means of looking inside the human body in multiple angles whereas each organ and its function can be evaluated and appreciated. The great benefits of radiology is the fact that it allows doctors to see inside a patient in minimally invasive ways. This means that few people have to suffer through the pain and recovery of being cut open and sewed back together. Patients can benefit from faster recovery times in cases were surgery is necessary with the help of guided interventions involving Radiology. Medical imaging also enables doctors to speed up the process of diagnosing and treating illnesses that formally either went unnoticed or undiagnosed for longer periods of time. Radiology not only allows care to happen more quickly but also more accurately by providing highly detailed images from several points of view.
The three radiologic modalities that we have chosen in this project are CAT scan MRI and mammography. Each one of these modalities plays a major role in treating any illness or disease. As a matter of fact it seems highly unlikely that a person living in any civilized region have not encountered one of these modalities for screening purposes or for assessing an illness. Mammography plays a major role in early screening and detection for breast cancer in woman. CAT scan is a quick and noninvasive modality of choice for ER physicians who are treating either motor vehicle accident patients or patients who have something ranging from appendicitis to a brain tumor. CAT scan is the modality of choice for the main anatomical regions of the Lungs and the abdominal pelvic region. A CAT scan can give great detail on the liver, kidneys, prostate, bladder, pancreas and arteries. A CAT scan can retro format an image into a 3-D format whereas the image quality will be superb for the viewing physician. One of the great benefits of a CAT scan is that it is a very quick modality, in most cases under 10 minutes a study can be done. An MRI is a modality that utilizes magnetic waves as opposed to the radiation of a CAT scan to view the internal organs and structures of the human body. MRI is a complex modality that produces an excellent image quality with concentration on muscles, nerves, tissues and tendons. MRI would be the modality of choice for sports injury, neurology and spine disease. Although all three modalities share the same benefit of viewing the various structures of the human body in detail each modality has its own distinctive difference with respect to image production.
These three modalities are heavily used in today’s healthcare industry in treating millions of people with all sorts of illnesses, diseases and injuries. We can say that without these radiologic modalities in place, the human death toll will be at a much higher rate than it is today. Our group has used sources from healthcare websites. The major sources of our information was derived from online via the Internet. These references will be posted on our reference page on our open lab page. Our research project will promote the benefits of advancing in the radiology field after obtaining the initial Licensure to practice radiology. Our information will inform the public of the basic functions of each modality, the benefits they posses for the healthcare industry along with the salary trend in today’s market for an imaging technologist.
