Chest imaging procedures are typically designed to assess cancer, toxin exposure, pulmonary abnormalities, embolism, inflammation, bronchial blockage, pleural effusion, angina, and other disorders.
Some Chest Imaging Procedures Include:
A chest X-ray is a very common medical procedure that can reveal the cause of chest pain, persistent cough or difficulty breathing. A very small dose of radiation is used to image the lungs, heart and other structures in the chest.
Lung cancer CT screening is one of the most accurate diagnostic tools for finding lung cancer at an early stage, when it is most treatable. CT scans of the lung are able to detect small abnormalities in the lungs that could be the beginning stages of lung cancer. These indicators are often not visible on a routine chest X-ray. Since a CT lung screening offers the best opportunity for successful treatment of lung cancer before symptoms are noticed, more physicians are opting for lung cancer screening based on risk factors (like smoking and family history), rather than symptoms.
If an abscess has formed in the lungs, an interventional radiologist can use images to direct placement of a needle into the affected area for drainage. The drainage tube (catheter) can be guided by CT, fluoroscopy, ultrasound or X-ray.
