The research for the PowerPoint

I. Major procedures for CT, and what diseases it is used to diagnose

• CT is for examining the chest, abdomen and pelvis because it provides detailed, cross-sectional views of all types of tissue.

• CT is used to examine patients with injuries from trauma such as a motor vehicle accident.

• CT is performed on patients with acute symptoms such as chest or abdominal pain or difficulty breathing.

• CT often is the best method for detecting many different cancers, such as lymphoma and cancers of the lung, liver, kidney, ovary and pancreas since the image allows a physician to confirm the presence of a tumor, measure its size, identify its precise location and determine the extent of its involvement with other nearby tissue.

• CT plays a significant role in the detection, diagnosis and treatment of vascular diseases that can lead to stroke, kidney failure or even death.

· CT is commonly used to assess for pulmonary embolism as well as for aortic aneurysms.

• CT is invaluable in diagnosing and treating spinal problems and injuries to the hands, feet and other skeletal structures because it can clearly show even very small bones as well as surrounding tissues such as muscle and blood vessels.

• CT can quickly identify injuries to the lungs, heart and vessels, liver, spleen, kidneys, bowel or other internal organs in cases of trauma.

• CT is used to guide biopsies and other procedures such as abscess drainages and minimally invasive tumor treatments.

• CT is used to plan for and assess the results of surgery, such as organ transplants or gastric bypass.

• CT is used stage, plan and properly administer radiation treatments for tumors as well as monitor response to chemotherapy.

• CT is also used to measure bone mineral density for the detection of osteoporosis.

A CT scanner uses a motorized x-ray source that rotates around the circular opening of a donut-shaped structure called a gantry. During a CT scan, the patient lies on a bed that slowly moves through the gantry while the x-ray tube rotates around the patient, shooting narrow beams of x-rays through the body. Instead of film, CT scanners use special digital x-ray detectors, which are located directly opposite the x-ray source. As the x-rays leave the patient, they are picked up by the detectors and transmitted to a computer. Each time the x-ray source completes one full rotation, the CT computer uses sophisticated mathematical techniques to construct a 2D image slice of the patient.