Dr Amit Chakraborty, Jan 2023
Do medical imaging centres only take medical images?
After all, the name says it all, doesn’t it? It is an imaging centre, therefore, all that it does is take images, read them, produce reports and that’s all they do.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. A medical imaging centre provides a lot of services aside from just obtaining and reporting on the imaging examinations that your doctor has ordered.
The radiologist
The doctor that works in a medical imaging practice is called the radiologist. Radiologists are specialist doctors who have completed the required training and qualifications to obtain a general medical degree, and then have done further education, qualification, experience, and examinations to obtain specialist degree and accreditation in the field of medical imaging. The vast experience and knowledge that your radiologist has can make a significant difference in the overall quality of your images and the interpretation.
What more can an imaging centre do for me?
A radiologist, and therefore the medical imaging centre not only provides you with diagnostic images and a report, but they can also shed light onto the cause of your condition, provide appropriate recommendations for treatments or further referrals or suggest appropriate follow-up examinations.
An imaging centre also provides several other diagnostic and treatment services as requested by your doctor. These include various biopsies, cortisone injections, PRP injections and the like. In experienced hands, not only that these procedures are more successful, but they are also far less painful with far less potential for complications.
An imaging centre can provide you with valuable knowledge about preventative strategies. For example, an imaging centre can provide you with calcium scoring of the blood vessels of your heart. Research has shown that the amount of calcium in the blood vessels of your heart may be directly related to your risk of having a heart attack.
By providing routine by annual screening tests, an imaging centre can significantly lower your risk of late-stage breast cancers. These routine follow-up tests can detect any anomaly at a very early stage and therefore maximise the chances of a curative treatment.
By routinely following up thyroid nodules, an imaging centre can help lower the complications of a thyroid cancer.
Imaging centres that are equipped with a DEXA machine can aid in your fitness journey. A DEXA machine can accurately assess the body composition. It is, in fact, the gold standard in measurement of the body composition. This gives you a precise measurement of the amount of fat, muscle, bone, and water in your body. Armed with this information, you can make suitable changes and adopt an appropriate lifestyle and exercise regime to maximise your fitness goals.
At CareScan, your local Prestons radiology, we believe in preventative imaging. By consulting with your doctor and getting routine imaging tests, you can remain on top of your health and prevent diseases in various conditions before they even occur.
Our radiologists are always happy to work as a team with your doctors in order to develop a tailor-made treatment of follow-up plan for you.
We are happy to answer any questions you may have. Please call us on 0281074888 or email us at [email protected].