Fruits and vegetables. Exercise and stress relief. Extra glasses of water and annual check-ins with your doctor: all of these may come to mind when you want to maximize your health. Though imaging exams like CT scans, MRIs and ultrasound may not be at the top of your list, there are several ways they can benefit you.
Keeping Ahead of Cancer Risks
There are many regular screenings that can detect early signs of cancers, allowing for early treatment and higher rates of survival. Though you may be concerned that these tests could be costly, taking advantage of them can actually help reduce bigger healthcare costs in the long run.
A fast breast MRI, for example, or prostate cancer screening may catch tumors when they’re small enough to be treated without surgery, or before they grow larger and cause other health complications.
Precisely Assessing Injury & Disease
Understanding the scope of an injury or illness is one of the most important ways to treat it effectively, efficiently, and with the least expense.
Ultrasound, for example, can assess liver and kidney function, the presence of kidney stones, and even evaluate changes or problems in extremely fine tissue like your blood vessels — all without investigative surgery.
CT scans and MRIs can also provide extremely precise images of both hard and soft tissue (unlike X-rays), allowing your doctor to fully understand any and all damage that may have occurred from an injury such as a car accident. These images then empower doctors and specialists to determine a more comprehensive treatment and recovery plan to get you on the road to healing faster.
Optimizing Treatment Methods
Beyond aiding in the evaluation of injury or acute illness, imaging exams can also help doctors plan treatment for chronic conditions such as arthritis or osteoporosis. “Modern imaging modalities have the capacity to visualize the whole joint, detect early structural abnormalities and measure changes over time,” a 2018 report from Oxford University Press’ Rheumatology explains. This is especially useful if the condition is changing rapidly.
Doctors can also use imaging technology to make better recommendations for non-invasive treatments that may be available as alternatives to surgery. But even in cases where a complicated surgical procedure is still deemed necessary, imaging results can help guide and inform a plan in order to make them more efficient and effective.
In the case of cancer, doctors can use CT scans to assess how well certain treatments are working. They can also determine the cancer’s stage, which will aid greatly in planning your treatment options, and recovery time. “Contemporary state-of-the-art diagnoses increasingly capture the large patient-to-patient variations that impact cancer risk, prognosis, and treatment response,” a study in the American Society of Clinical Oncology Educational Book asserts, empowering the best possible treatment for your unique needs.
At Outpatient Imaging Culpeper, we provide a full range of imaging services. Our technicians and experts can also talk with you further about how you and your doctor can use the results to your greatest advantage. To schedule an appointment, call us at (540) 321-3190, or visit us online.