Imaging Resources

Before Your Exam

• Avoid wearing deodorant, talcum powder or lotion on underarms or breasts
• Be prepared to complete a breast history form, including family history and medical history
• Let us know if there’s a possibility that you’re pregnant

How Is a 3D Mammogram Performed?

A 3D mammogram takes multiple images of breast tissue to create a three-dimensional picture of your breast. This helps us see deeper and more accurately into breast tissue, allowing us to detect more cancers.

It is performed very similarly to a traditional mammogram. During the procedure, your technician will help position your breast between two plates on a machine that will capture images of your breast. A tube will then sweep across the breast in an arch, taking pictures. It only takes a few seconds longer to get pictures for a 3D mammogram compared to a traditional mammogram.

After Your Exam

A radiologist will closely examine your image results. They will look for any sign of abnormality including asymmetries, irregular areas of increased density and clusters of small calcifications.

Your physician will typically have the results from your mammogram in 2 to 10 days. A report will also be mailed directly to you within 10 to 30 days.

Before Your Exam
No special diet or preparation is required for this exam. We recommend wearing separates (shirt and bottoms) for your comfort.

How Is a DXA performed?
Once in the exam room, you’ll be positioned on a padded table. X-ray equipment will be located below you and an imaging device will be above. The detector will slowly pass over the area being examined, generating images on a screen. You must keep still and may be asked to hold your breath for a few seconds during the scan to reduce the possibility of a blurred image.

After Your Exam
Results from your DXA scan will be delivered to your ordering physician within a few days.

Before Your Exam
You may need to take specific preparations for a CT scan, depending on the type of scan you have and if you take certain medicines. Be sure to talk to your doctor to find out if you can eat or drink before your exam or need to skip any medications.

Before your scan, tell your technologist if you have any allergies or believe you might be pregnant.

How Is a CT performed?
You will be asked to lie on a movable exam table positioned in front of a cylinder-shaped X-ray scanner. Once you are comfortably positioned on the table, your technician will slowly guide the table into the circular X-ray device, which will rotate as you pass through, capturing images of the inside of your body. The scanner will make a noticeable mechanical noise. You may also be asked to hold your breath during some portions of the exam.

You may need a contrast dye in your system that will flow through your body and show up in the images we capture, allowing us to see how your body functions.

After Your Exam
Results from your CT scan will be sent to your doctor within 24 to 48 hours. Upon request, CDs or films can be printed following the exam.

If the CT included contrast, you can resume a normal diet, but should be sure to drink plenty of water to flush the contrast from your system. If you’re diabetic and taking Metformin and were given contrast, wait to take this medication for 48 hours. Your doctor can also provide specific instructions based on your medical history and current medications.

Before Your Exam
Preparing for an X-ray can change a little depending on the type of test you’re getting. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Tell your referring physician and X-ray technician if you might be pregnant or have a known contrast allergy
• You’ll be asked to change into a patient gown as clothing can show up in images. You may want to consider wearing comfortable and easy-to-remove clothes based on the type of X-ray you need.

Most X-rays are quick, but exam times will vary based on the images and views ordered.

How is an X-ray performed?
You may be asked to stand, sit, or lay on a table. You may also be asked to hold your breath for a short time. Following the directions of the technologist and radiologist are very important to achieve the best images possible.

After Your Exam
Routine diagnostic X-rays should require no recovery. Results will be shared with your ordering physician.

Before Your Exam
You’ll be asked to change into MRI scrubs. It’s important to remove all metal or electronic items from your body and hair.

You should also notify your technician if you have any metal or electronic devices, such as pacemakers, stents, filters or screws that may interfere with the MRI scan and results, of if you’re claustrophobic.

How is an MRI Performed?
In this procedure, you will be asked to lie on a padded, moveable exam table in front of the MRI machine, which is shaped like a large functional tube. Your technician will give you noise-softening headphones and an emergency call button that you may use if you need a break. Once you are comfortably situated, your technician will guide the table into the MRI tube, which will scan your body and transmit signals to a computer image translator.

After Your Exam
Results from your MRI will be sent to your ordering physician. Your doctor may request CDs or a report following the exam.

Medical exams can be frightening even for grown-ups, so we do our best to make imaging testing less scary for kids. Our specialists work to ensure children and young adults feel comfortable and have a sense of control.

Years of experience treating young patients have informed how we can best comfort your child. We’re driven to create a kid-friendly environment where children can become familiar with imaging procedures in a safe space. We also work with parents to understand each child’s unique needs.

Before Your Exam

An ultrasound is simple and pain-free. You typically do not need any special preparation prior to your test.

How Is an Ultrasound Performed?
Typically, you’ll be positioned lying face-up on an examination table that can be tilted or adjusted. Most exams only take about 30 minutes to an hour to complete.

During the ultrasound, clear, water-based gel is applied to the area of your body being studied. This gets rid of air pockets between the transducer and your skin that can block the sound waves from passing into your body.

The sonographer (ultrasound technologist) will then press the transducer firmly against your skin in various locations, sweeping over the area of interest or angling the sound beam from a farther location to better see an area of concern.

In some ultrasound studies, the transducer is attached to a probe and inserted into a natural opening in the body. These exams include:

• Transvaginal ultrasound: The transducer is inserted into a woman’s vagina to view the uterus and ovaries.

After Your Exam
When the examination is complete, you may be asked to dress and wait while the ultrasound images are reviewed. Results from the procedure will be sent to your ordering physician within two business days.

Before your imaging procedure be sure to ask your physician the following questions:

• Why is the test needed?
• How will having the test improve my care?
• Are there alternatives that do not use radiation and deliver similar results?
• Is the facility accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR)?
• Are pediatric and adult tests delivered using the appropriate radiation doses?

When you see the gold seals of accreditation prominently displayed in our imaging facility, you can be sure that you are in a facility that meets standards for imaging quality and safety. Look for the ACR Gold Seals of Accreditation.

To achieve the ACR Gold Standard of Accreditation, our facility's personnel qualifications, equipment requirements, quality assurance, and quality control procedures have gone through a rigorous review process and have met specific qualifications. It's important for patients to know that every aspect of the ACR accreditation process is overseen by board-certified, expert radiologists and medical physicists in advanced diagnostic imaging.

• Our facility has voluntarily gone through a vigorous review process to ensure that we meet nationally-accepted standards of care.
• Our personnel are well qualified, through education and certification, to perform medical imaging, interpret your images, and administer your radiation therapy treatments.
• Our equipment is appropriate for the test or treatment you will receive, and our facility meets or exceeds quality assurance and safety guidelines.

When you see the ACR gold seal, you can rest assured that your prescribed imaging test will be done at a facility that has met the highest level of imaging quality and radiation safety. The facility and its personnel have gone through a comprehensive review to earn accreditation status by the American College of Radiology (ACR), the largest and oldest imaging accrediting body in the U.S. and a professional organization of 34,000 physicians.