CT
Ultrasound, or “sonography”, is the most commonly performed imaging procedure in everyday clinical practice. It uses sound waves that are reflected from different organ structures to produce images, thus allowing the organs to be distinguished. It works without the harmful X-rays.
The ultrasound examination can be performed quickly, very easily and as often as desired. From the outside, the transducer, which emits the waves, is pressed onto the skin. With ultrasound only soft tissues can be visualized, because the bone does not let the waves pass through.
It is used for the detection of liquid or air-filled rooms, for the imaging of vessels and abdominal organs. The ultrasound device is also frequently used in pregnancy diagnostics to assess the development of the child. It is also frequently used for the detection and progress diagnosis of malignant tumors. Only experienced physicians can evaluate an ultrasound image well. The resolution and informative value of an ultrasound examination is very limited and depends on the experience of the doctor.
Interventional Radiology
Interventional radiology is not a part of diagnostic radiology, but is an aid in minimally invasive therapeutic measures. This branch of radiology has not existed for very long. Vascular systems are almost exclusively depicted in interventional radiology, often with the aid of contrast media.
These include arteries, veins, lymphatic vessels or even bile ducts. The imaging procedures are performed simultaneously with a minimally invasive procedure. These include, above all, the dilation of vessels, the application of stents, the obliteration of bleeding or the removal of constrictions (stenoses) of vessels.
In order to guarantee that the minimally invasive treatment is carried out at the right place within the vessel, the position of the vessel and the performance of the intervention can be closely monitored with the help of interventional radiology. Also in organs, for example in the treatment of liver tumors, the exact location of the therapy can be determined and checked with the help of image recordings with contrast media. In interventional radiology, it is also important to pay attention to radiation protection, because it also works with ionizing, harmful X-rays.
