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Hello world! 
I'm Tiffany and I'm taking part in #GlobalScienceShow!
I'm going to be talking about medical imaging - the methods that doctors use to be able to see inside your body!
Follow along @GlobalSciShow - up next is @STEMinStyle!
#ScienceFromHome @MinoritySTEM
I'm Tiffany and I'm taking part in #GlobalScienceShow!I'm going to be talking about medical imaging - the methods that doctors use to be able to see inside your body!
Follow along @GlobalSciShow - up next is @STEMinStyle!
#ScienceFromHome @MinoritySTEM
First of all... How many of you have had a:
- X-ray?
- Ultrasound scan?
- MRI scan?
- PET scan?
- X-ray?
- Ultrasound scan?
- MRI scan?
- PET scan?
Medical imaging is used to see inside the body to help doctors diagnose and treat diseases! 
In this thread, we're going to be (very briefly!) talking about the most common types of medical imaging!
In this thread, we're going to be (very briefly!) talking about the most common types of medical imaging!
X-RAYS:
used to look at bones - broken bones, fractures and dislocations (ouch!)
images are made from shining x-rays (a form of electromagnetic radiation) through your body. your bones are better at blocking x-rays than your soft tissues are!
used to look at bones - broken bones, fractures and dislocations (ouch!)
images are made from shining x-rays (a form of electromagnetic radiation) through your body. your bones are better at blocking x-rays than your soft tissues are!
ULTRASOUND:
used to look at babies in the womb and other soft tissues
ultrasound = high frequency sound (we can't hear it, but dogs can!) images are created from sound echoing off different parts of your body
used to look at babies in the womb and other soft tissues
ultrasound = high frequency sound
(we can't hear it, but dogs can!) images are created from sound echoing off different parts of your body
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging):
used for soft tissue (e.g. ligaments and brain
)
most of the body consists of water molecules (H2O), which contain tiny particles called protons! these act like tiny magnets. MRI uses strong magnetic fields and radiowaves to create images
used for soft tissue (e.g. ligaments and brain
)most of the body consists of water molecules (H2O), which contain tiny particles called protons! these act like tiny magnets. MRI uses strong magnetic fields and radiowaves to create images
PET (Positron Emission Tomography):
used for functional imaging - to see how your body is working (rather than what it looks like)
images are created by using radioactive compounds that travel to specific places in the body to produce a signal that we can detect
used for functional imaging - to see how your body is working (rather than what it looks like)
images are created by using radioactive compounds that travel to specific places in the body to produce a signal that we can detect
As you can see, different types of medical imaging tell us/doctors different things about the body - quite often, you may need more than one type of imaging scan done for doctors to be able to get a 'complete' picture!
Whilst X-ray, ultrasound, MRI and PET are the most commonly used medical imaging methods, there are many others!
Scientists around the world are trying to improve these methods so that they work better, as well as developing new ones that we might see in hospitals one day!
Scientists around the world are trying to improve these methods so that they work better, as well as developing new ones that we might see in hospitals one day!
If you've gotten this far, send me some pet* images! 
(*images of your pets, not PET images)
Thanks for reading! Feel free to tweet @ me if you have any questions (& shoutout to @ClaudiaFraser9 for helping me put this thread together)
(*images of your pets, not PET images)
Thanks for reading! Feel free to tweet @ me if you have any questions (& shoutout to @ClaudiaFraser9 for helping me put this thread together)
