Medical Imaging Services

VITAL INFORMATION FOR PATIENTS

Did you know that up to 50% of all strokes occur
in people who show no prior symptoms?

Many people also don't know that a large percentage of strokes can be avoided with inexpensive and painless tests.

Medical Imaging Services is committed to providing Quality screening exams with a quick turn around of thoroughly informative reports.

Plaque buildup (also known as arteriosclerosis) is an abnormal collection of calcium and cholesterol on the artery walls. As you can see in the image at right, plaque builds up along the walls of a diseased artery. This buildup can restrict blood flow to the brain or break off and become lodged in a blood vessel- causing a stroke. Through ultrasound technology (the same technology that is used to see the fetus of a pregnant woman), Medical Imaging Services can visualize the inside or your C arteries. Early detection will allow your personal physician to advise you on an appropriate course of action that could be lifesaving. Also, Medical Imaging Services performs these ultrasound's in the convenience and comfort of your physicians office.

Did you know that Aortic Aneurysms affect approximately 2.7 million Americans and are the 13th leading cause of death in the United States?

Ultrasound technology is also used for detecting AAA's as well. An Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) is a ballooning of the wall in the abdominal aorta. Like strokes, AAA's are most often caused by arteriosclerosis (plaque buildup). The majority of people with AAA's have no symptoms. If an AAA ruptures, the mortality rate is as high as 80 percent with many not surviving long enough to reach a hospital. Early diagnosis and preventive repair are vital since only one out of two patients with an AAA rupture will survive.

Additionally, ultrasound technology is used to screen for Peripheral Arterial Disease (plaque buildup in the arms and legs) Eight to twelve million Americans suffer from PAD.

Did you know that Heart Disease is the leading cause of death in the US?

Echocardiogram w/Doppler is a test in which ultrasound is used to examine the heart. In addition to providing single-dimension images, known as M-mode echo that allows accurate measurement of the heart chambers, the echocardiogram also offers far more sophisticated and advanced imaging. This is known as two- dimensional (2-D) Echo and is capable of displaying a cross-sectional "slice" of the beating heart, including the chambers, valves and the major blood vessels that exit from the left and right ventricle.

What is a Doppler Examination? Doppler is a special part of the ultrasound examination that assess blood flow (direction and velocity). In contrast, the M-mode and 2-D Echo evaluates the size, thickness and movement of heart structures (chambers, valves, etc.).

What information does Echocardiography and Doppler provide?

Echocardiography is an invaluable tool in providing the doctor with important information about the following:

Size of the chambers of the heart. The test can determine the thickness and "stiffness" of the LV walls. When the LV pump function is reduced in patients with heart failure, the LV and RV tends to dilate or enlarge.
Echocardiography can measure the severity of this enlargement. Serial studies performed on an annual basis can gauge the response of treatment. Pumping function of the heart can be assessed by echocardiography. One can tell if the pumping power of the heart is normal or reduced to a mild or severe degree. This measure is known as an ejection fraction or EF. A normal EF is around 55 to 75%.Numbers below 45% usually represent some decrease in the pumping strength of the heart, while numbers below 30 to 35% are representative of an important decrease.
Echocardiography can also identify if the heart is pumping poorly due to a condition known as cardiomyopathy. Thus, echocardiography can assess the pumping ability of each chamber of the heart and also the movement of each visualized wall. The decreased movement, in turn, can be graded from mild to severe.
Valve Function: Echocardiography identifies the structure, thickness and movement of each heart valve. It can help determine if the valve is normal, scarred from an infection or rheumatic fever, thickened, calcified torn, etc. It can also assess the function of prosthetic or artificial heart valves.
The additional use of Doppler helps to identify abnormal leakage across heart valves and determine their severity. Doppler is also very useful in diagnosing the presence and severity of valve stenosis (pronounced stee-no-sis) or narrowing.
Echocardiography is used to diagnose mitral valve prolapse (MVP), while Doppler identifies whether it is associated with leakage or regurgitation of the mitral valve (MR). The presence of MR frequently prompts the use of antibiotics prior to any dental or non-sterile surgical procedure. Such action helps reduce the rare complication of valve infection.
Volume status: Low blood pressure can occur in the setting of poor heart function but may also be seen when patient's have a reduced volume of circulating blood (as seen with dehydration, blood loss, use of diuretics or "water pill.", etc.). In many cases, the diagnosis can be made on the basis of history, physical examination and blood tests.
Echocardiography is useful in the diagnosis of fluid in the pericardium (the sac that surrounds the heart). It also determines when the problem is severe and potentially life-threatening. Other diagnoses (plural for diagnosis) made by Doppler or echocardiography include congenital heart diseases, blood clot's or tumors within the heart, active infection of the heart valves, abnormal elevation of pressure within the lungs, etc.

NCV– Nerve Conduction Velocity

WHAT IS IT?: A test of the peripheral nervous system to the arms and legs. This test checks both sensory and motor nerve function. Nerve conduction velocity (NCV) test is the measurement of the speed of conduction of an electrical impulse through a nerve. NCV can determine nerve damage and destruction.

HOW IS IT PERFORMED?: NCV is a noninvasive procedure which is not painful but can be uncomfortable. During the test, the nerve is stimulated, usually with surface electrode patches attached to the skin over the nerve. One electrode stimulates the nerve with a very mild electrical impulse and the other electrode records the electrical activity. This is repeated for each nerve being tested.

THE RESULTS: The nerve conduction velocity (speed) is then calculated by measuring the distance between electrodes and the time it takes for electrical impulses to travel between electrodes.