Imaging Techniques
Discuss application of imaging technology for detection of abnormalities of musculoskeletal system.Today there are many different types of imaging technology for the detection of abnormalities in the musculoskeletal system. These include:The contents of this report will briefly discuss the application of all the aforementioned imaging techniques, and will touch on some of the musculoskeletal abnormalities they can be used to diagnose. The focus of this report, however, will be on Computed Tomography, Arthrography and Magnetic Resonance.Computer tomography (also called CT or CAT scans) was first made public in 1972 and was said to be "the most significant development in clinical use of x-rays since their discovery by Roentgen" (Oldendorf et al. 1988 **book*). CT uses specialised X-ray equipment, with the aid of a computer, to produce cross-sections of several types of tissue including lung, bone, and soft tissue. A great advantage of this technology is its ability to produce clear detailed images of blood vessels, very small bones and the surrounding tissue.
Nuclear Imaging (scintigraphy) is a highly sensitive imaging technique capable of detecting changes in the metabolic activity of bone and soft tissue. MRI has proven to be of great value in the diagnoses of many disorders in all parts of the body not just the musculoskeletal system. Arthrography has largely been surpassed by MRI (Arndt et al. Hip arthrography, was originally mainly used in infants for the evaluation of congenital malformations, mainly dislocations, and in adults "to examine the painful joint in infectious, posttraumatic and sometimes inflammatory arthritis, but most importantly to confirm the presence of loosening or infection of a total hip prosthesis. The DEXA scan gives the results in the form of bone per unit of skeletal area and is usually reported as bone mineral density (BMD). Also, patients need to remain very still during the procedure in order to ensure accurate imaging, this can be difficult for some patients and they may need sedation before an MRI. * Degenerative lesions of the spinal cord. When it comes to the musculoskeletal area, CT has proven to be of great benefit. For example cancers, heart and brain imaging (especially for strokes) are all observable in detail. In other words, the amount of bone you have in your skeleton determines how strong it is and how much trauma or force it can withstand before it fractures. In the spine, MRI is used to diagnose numerous disorders including: * Spinal cord compression, which results from direct injury to the cord itself, or from indirect injury from damage to the bones, soft tissues, and blood vessels surrounding the spinal cord.
Common topics in this essay:
Roentgen Oldendorf,
Imagining MRI,
Knee Arthrography,
Nuclear Imaging,
DEXA DXA,
Arthritis Stoler,
Knee MRI,
Overall MRI,
CT Arthrography,
MRI Arndt,
et al,
musculoskeletal system,
al 1981,
arndt et,
bone densitometry,
et al 1981,
soft tissue,
arndt et al,
et al 1998,
webb et,
spinal cord,
webb et al,
al 1998,
detection abnormalities,
technology detection abnormalities,
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