St. Mary’s Health Center offers advanced medical imaging services to help screen for and diagnose health conditions. Whether bone fractures, tumors, blood clots or many other abnormalities, we use the best diagnostic tools to produce detailed images that help radiologists detect problems and quickly report them to your physician.
The latest imaging device to come to St. Mary’s is a 128-slice CT scanner, one of only a few in Missouri. The new technology offers quicker, safer and more-detailed two- and three-dimensional images. With the new scanner, patients have to hold their breath for only five seconds, and they’re finished with most tests in 15 minutes. The scanner also automatically limits the radiation it emits to the minimum needed for each patient.
Registered technologists gather the images, which are interpreted by radiologists who’ve been trained at major medical universities and are accredited by the American Board of Radiology. They work as a team to deliver rapid test results when time is critical. With longer hours of operation, tests can be conducted within 48 hours of being ordered, and many on the same day requested. Most reports are available within 24 hours.
And now, the new St. Mary’s Women’s Imaging Center provides diagnostic services to meet the special needs of women – including digital mammography, breast MRI and bone-density scanning – in a private, comfortable environment. To learn more, click here.
The following medical imaging services are provided at St. Mary’s.
General Radiography (x-ray)
X-rays are the most common form of diagnostic imaging. A small dose of ionizing radiation is used to produce pictures of the inside of the body. Because different parts of the body absorb x-rays in varying degrees, they appear as white, black and shades of gray on the picture.
Depending on the area of the body being imaged, patients may lie on an x-ray table above an image recording plate or may stand against a recording plate. They remain very still and may be asked to hold their breath briefly while the x-ray picture is taken. Pictures taken from several positions may be needed to generate multiple views.
To learn more about this service, go to www.radiologyinfo.org, a website developed jointly by the American College of Radiology and the Radiological Society of North America.
CT Scan
CT scanning, also called CAT scanning, is a noninvasive medical test that combines special x-ray equipment with sophisticated computers to produce multiple images of the inside of the body, including internal organs, bones, soft tissue and blood vessels. CT scans produce images of greater clarity and more detail than regular x-ray exams. Radiologists examine CT scans to diagnose conditions such as cancers, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, appendicitis, trauma and musculoskeletal disorders.
For a CT scan, patients lie on an exam table that moves through a donut-shaped scanner. X-ray beams and electronic x-ray detectors rotate around the patient, measuring the amount of radiation being absorbed throughout the body. A computer program processes the data to create two- and three-dimensional cross-sectional images, which are then displayed on a monitor.
To learn more about this service, go to www.radiologyinfo.org.
Nuclear Medicine
Nuclear medicine uses small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose or treat a variety of diseases, including many types of cancers, heart disease and other abnormalities. These noninvasive tests help physicians visualize the structure and function of an organ, tissue, bone or body system. They are used, for example, to study kidney function, blood flow, respiratory function, cancer, infection and brain abnormalities.
A radioactive material called a radiopharmaceutical or radiotracer is either injected into the bloodstream, swallowed or inhaled as a gas. The material accumulates in the body area under examination, where it produces a small amount of energy in the form of gamma rays. Once the energy is detected, a computer produces detailed images of the structure and function of organs and tissues in the body.
To learn more about this service, go to www.radiologyinfo.org.
MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging is a noninvasive medical test that uses a powerful magnetic field, radio frequency pulses and a computer to produce detailed pictures of internal body structures, such as organs, soft tissues and bone. Without using x rays, it enables physicians to determine the presence of certain diseases that can’t be assessed adequately with other imaging methods such as x-ray, ultrasound or CT scans.
An MRI unit is a large cylinder-shaped tube surrounded by a circular magnet. The patient lies on an exam table that slides into the center of the magnet. A computer then processes the signals and generates images that can be studied from different angles by the interpreting physician.
To learn more about this service, go to www.radiologyinfo.org.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound imaging, also called sonography, uses high-frequency sound waves to produce pictures of the inside of the body. Ultrasound images are captured in real-time, showing the structure and movement of the body's internal organs, as well as blood flowing through vessels. It is noninvasive and does not use x-rays.
Ultrasound may be used to evaluate symptoms such as pain, swelling and infection and to diagnose a variety of heart conditions and assess damage after a heart attack. It is also used to guide needle biopsies to extract cells for laboratory testing.
Ultrasound patients lie on an exam table, where a gel applied to the area of the body being studied helps the transducer make secure contact with the body. The technologist or radiologist then presses the transducer against the skin and sweeps over the area.