Radiology And Imaging-
Radiology is a branch of medicine that uses imaging techniques to diagnose and treat diseases. Radiology can be divided into two distinct areas: diagnostic radiology and interventional radiology. Doctors who specialize in radiology are called radiologists.
Information
DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY
Diagnostic radiology is a medical specialty that uses a variety of imaging techniques to obtain images from inside the body. The diagnostic radiologist then carefully evaluates these images to diagnose disease and injury.
Diagnostic radiology is at the heart of clinical decision making in modern medicine.
- Diagnose the cause of your symptoms
- Monitor how well your body is responding to treatment you are receiving for your disease or condition
- diagnose or treat patients by recording images of the internal structure of the body to assess the presence or absence of disease, foreign objects, and structural damage or anomaly
- Screen for various diseases, such as breast cancer, colon cancer, or heart disease
The most common types of diagnostic radiology exams include:
- Computed tomography (CT), also known as computerized axial tomography (CAT), including CT angiography
- Fluoroscopy, including upper GI and barium enema
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA)
- Mammography
- X-Ray Imaging
- Dental X Ray
- DEXA Imaging
- Nuclear medicine, including bone scan, thyroid scan and thallium cardiac stress test
- Plain x-ray examinations, such as chest x-rays
- Positron emission tomography, also called PET imaging, PET scan, or PET-CT, when combined with CT
- Ultrasound
INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY
Interventional radiologists are physicians who use imaging techniques such as CT, ultrasound, MRI, and fluoroscopy to guide procedures. Imaging is helpful to the doctor when he or she inserts catheters, wires and other small instruments and tools into your body. This usually allows smaller incisions (cuts) to be made.
Doctors can use this technology to detect or treat conditions in almost any part of the body, rather than looking directly into your body through an endoscope (camera) or performing open surgery.
Interventional radiologists are often involved in treating cancers or tumors, blockages in arteries and veins, fibroids in the uterus, back pain, liver and kidney problems.
Interventional radiology procedures include:
- Angiography or angioplasty and insertion of a stent
- intravenous pyelogram (IVP)
- Retrograde Urethrogram (RGU)
- Micturating Cysto-Urethrogram (MCU)
- Embolization to control bleeding
- Cancer treatments including tumor embolization with chemoembolization or Y-90 radioembolization
- Tumor ablation with radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation, or microwave ablation
- Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty
- Needle biopsies from various organs, e.g., lungs and thyroid gland
- Breast biopsy, guided by either stereotactic or ultrasound techniques
- Embolization of the uterine artery
- Placement of feeding tubes
- Placement of venous access catheters, e.g. ports and PICCs
History Of Radiology-
The history of radiology timeline covers the beginnings of radiology from 1895, when Wilhelm Rontgen first discovered X-rays, to the decades of the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. During this time, patients were exposed to quite invasive examinations and knowledge of the dangers of radiation grew. The 1970s are known as the “golden decade” of radiology, when the CT scanner opened up new possibilities and discoveries that were further developed in the 1980s and 1990s.
Radiology began in 1895 when Wilhelm Rontgen accidentally discovered X-rays, a type of radiation that can penetrate most solid objects. The German physicist was investigating what happened when he passed an electric current through various gases at low pressure. For this experiment, he connected electrodes to a glass cathode tube and applied a voltage to the gas; this sent a beam of electrons, called a cathode ray, from one end of the tube to the other. Cathode rays glow green when they strike the walls of a glass tube. Roentgen was honored for his discovery with the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901, and the public was fascinated by the developments and implications that followed. Nevertheless, early radiologists were not concerned about the possible negative effects of X-rays, and it was not until 1904, after the death of Clarence Dally (Thomas Edison’s long-time assistant in the production and testing of X-rays), that protective measures were introduced.
Rontgen’s ultimate goal was to find out if the cathode rays could pass through glass, so he covered the tube with heavy black paper. The scientist was surprised when the rays penetrated not only the glass but also the paper, projecting the glowing green light onto a light screen a few feet away. Through experimentation, Rontgen found that the mysterious light could penetrate almost any solid object. Not knowing what the rays were, he named them X-rays, where the x stands for “unknown”
He also found that he could produce images of objects placed between the cathode rays and a photographic plate. The beams produced images of objects of varying thickness. At one point, his wife held her hand over the photographic plate; the X-ray image showed the bones of her hand and the ring she wore surrounded by a faint outline created by her flesh. It was the first X-ray image of a human body part.
Harmful effects of radiation-
Ionizing has sufficient energy to affect the atoms in living cells and thereby damage their genetic material (DNA). Fortunately, the cells in our bodies are extremely efficient at repairing this damage. However, if the damage is not repaired correctly, a cell may die or eventually become cancerous.
Exposure to very high levels of radiation, such as being close to an atomic blast, can cause acute health effects such as skin burns and acute radiation syndrome (“radiation sickness”). It can also result in long-term health effects such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Exposure to low levels of radiation encountered in the environment does not cause immediate health effects, but is a minor contributor to our overall cancer risk.
Health effects of radiation can be classified into two categories: threshold effects and non-threshold effects. Threshold effects appear after a certain level of radiation exposure is reached and enough cells have been damaged to make the effect apparent. Non-threshold effects can occur at lower levels of radiation exposure.
Harmful effects of radiation on the human body-
1. Hair
Radiation can cause hair loss on the part of the body that is being treated. Hair loss is called alopecia. Loss of hair fall occurs when exposure to radiation is higher than 200 rems.
2. Heart
Getting radiation to the middle portion of the chest can raise your risk of heart disease. This risk increases with higher radiation doses and larger treatment areas in this part of your body. Radiation can also cause hardening of the arteries (which can make you more likely to have a heart attack later on), heart valve damage, or irregular heartbeats. Intense exposure to radiation from 1000 to 5000 rems will affect the functioning of the heart. Radiation kills nerve cells and small blood vessels of heart which may cause immediate death.
4. Brain
Radiation to the brain can also have side effects that show up later – usually from 6 months to many years after treatment ends. These delayed effects can include serious problems such as memory loss, stroke-like symptoms, and poor brain function. Brain cells are affected if the radiation exposure is greater than 5000 rems.
3. Thyroid
The risk of thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer following irradiation is related to radiation dose and age (greater for children exposed early in life), and the risk persists throughout life. Radiation exposure also increases the risk of benign thyroid nodules and hypothyroidism.
4. Blood Vessels
The radiation causes the affected blood vessels to narrow and this limits the blood flow to the area. Therefore, patients who have had radiation treatment are at an increased risk of developing the condition. Radiation-induced vasculopathy can occur in both men and women at any age. A number of lymphocytic cells present in the blood will be reduced if a person is exposed to 100 rems. This may cause several immune problems. This is termed as mild radiation sickness. As per the reports from Nagasaki and Hiroshima, symptoms may be present more than ten years from that exposure.
5. Reproductive System
Pelvic irradiation may also have a profound effect on the uterus, with arrested growth in the prepubertal girl, and failure of uterine expansion during pregnancy with subsequent miscarriages and premature labor. As the cells of the reproductive tract divide fastly , these are more prone to be affected even if the exposure is not more than 200 rems.
6. Eyes
The main concern with radiation therapy is damage to parts of the eye, leading to problems such as blurry vision, dry eye, cataracts, retinal detachment, glaucoma (increased pressure inside the eye), loss of eye lashes, problems with tear ducts, or bleeding into the eye.
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