Radiology technologists play a central role on healthcare teams. They are the experts who take images of bones, 内部器官, and soft tissue to help physicians diagnose conditions or illnesses. Without imaging to see what’s going on inside the body, doctors might just be guessing about the reason for a patient’s pain. Although technological advances have resulted in a transition from the use of film for image capture to today’s digital imaging, the need for x射线s and their usefulness remains unchanged.
Radiology technologists, aka rad techs, are trained to take different kinds of x射线 exams. While some of these specialties require extra training, here are three types of imaging a rad tech could be in charge of as a member of a healthcare team.
x射线. Plain x射线s are the mainstay of imaging. The x射线 machine uses ionizing radiation to diagnose things like bone fractures, a swallowed object lodged internally, 关节炎和骨质疏松症. x射线s can also identify digestive tract issues and 感染s.
Mammography is a specialized subset of x射线 technology that uses a special x射线 machine to image breast tissue and screen for 癌症. The imaging can find abnormalities that are too small to be detected by physical exam.
做x光检查, the rad tech positions the patient, 要么躺, 坐着, 或站, in front of the x射线 machine to take images. They make take several pictures from different angles. These types of x射线s are short in duration, about 10-15 minutes.
CT扫描. CT扫描, 计算机断层扫描的缩写,” also uses ionizing radiation to diagnose some of the same issues a plain x射线 captures, as well as soft tissue injuries or conditions. The patient lies on a table that slides into a cylindrical scanner, which rotates around the patient to take a series of x射线s capturing a cross section of the patient’s body. These image slices are stacked to give a complete picture, and allow physicians to see the inside of organs, which can’t be seen by a regular x射线.
Some of the health issues a CT is used for include bone fractures, injuries from trauma such as a car accident or a fall, 感染, 癌症, 心脏或血管疾病. These x射线s also only take about 10-15 minutes.
核磁共振成像扫描 (磁共振扫描). 就像CT扫描一样, a patient slides into a cylindrical scanner for an MRI, but the scanner is thinner and deeper, and it includes loud popping sounds as the scanner captures images. Using magnetic fields and radio waves, MRIs are used to image the condition of soft tissue, including tendon and ligament injuries, 肿瘤, 脊髓损伤或疾病, 器官(大脑), 心, 腹部器官, 等.). MRIs can’t x射线 bones because bones don’t contain water the way soft tissue does. These scans can take significantly longer than a CT scan, sometimes up to an hour.
If x射线 technology sounds interesting to you, Fortis offers an associate degree program that trains students for entry-level positions in radiological technology. 点击这里 to learn more about the program, or call 1-855-436-7847 for more information.