Digital X-rays

Depending on what part of your body is being imaged, the radiographer will place you in a particular position infront of or on top of an x-ray detector. The x-ray machine will then be lined up using a light that shines on you, called a light beam diaphragm. The radiographer then goes behind the lead shield to take the picture. The resulting image is processed in a high speed reader and the radiographer can view it in less than a minute. Usually several pictures are taken on different angles. The radiographer will ask you to stay still and often to hold your breath.

OPG/Lat Ceph

The principle is exactly the same as for Digital X-rays, however in this examination you will place your head into an OPG machine that will move around your head and take a picture of your whole jaw and teeth. For this test you need to stay still for about 14seconds as it moves around you.

Ultrasound

The sonographer uses a transducer or probe, which they move over the area of interest to attain images. The sonographer will need to place some gel on you (usually warm!!) in order for the probe to have good contact on your skin. Without it, the sonographer is not able to make an image. The sonographer can then view the area of interest in real time (like a video) and take still images (like a photo) of the important structures seen. The sonographer will sometimes ask you to hold your breath.

CT (Computed Tomography)

The CT machine is a donut shaped scanner. You will lie down on the bed which is moved into the bore of the scanner, your head may or may not be left out depending on what we are scanning. An x-ray machine inside the CT, spins around you taking pictures. The computer is then able to reconstruct these pictures into slices of your body. It is very important for these scans you stay still and hold your breath when instructed.