Imaging Career Guide and Counseling

Question: What imaging is best to determine if my brain is showing improvement? I would like to be able to see if learning and changing my lifestyle will reverse changes in my 55 yr old brain. I would also like to determine if I can produce r sided changes as well as improve other frontal and prefrontal improvement after yrs of abuse. I have developed a protocol of cognitive therapy, learning and diet/exercise and alternative medical approaches that should help, but would like to measure neuroplastic change with imaging a well as using other psych assessment tools.

Answer: If you are a millionaire, a PET scan would be best to see the actual functioning of your brain. Second best would be MRI to see if the normal atrophy of brain size is slowing down. Third would be CT scan. But, you will have to pay for these out of your pocket, as no doctor would ever "prescribe" you to have these. No insurance would pay for this, as imaging really isn't best to measure these. There are neuro-psych testing tools that they use for dementia that would be better than any imaging.

Question: What classes of drugs interfere with imaging techniques? "Name three classes of drugs that interfere with brain imaging." "Name four drugs which interfere with myocardial perfusion scintigraphy." Unfortunately, I can't seem to find this information with my mediocre search skills. I know the question might be too specific but any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

Answer: Theophylline drugs interfere with adenosine stress tests. Beta-blocker and calcium channel blockers interfere with dobutamine stress test. Both these tests are done during myocardial perfusion scintigraphy to assess myocardial viability and ischemia. These three classes of drugs interfere with the performance of myocardial perfusion scintigraphy. Antithyroid drugs and iodinated contrast interfere with thyroid uptake and scan.

Question: Should i get an MRI Or Cat Scan Imaging to see what is causing my migraine headaches? I've had an mri done about 2 years ago regardings about my vertigo and migraines problems and the results was normal so it was the migraines was causing the diziness vertigo and i was wondering should i need to do an repeat imaging of a Cat Scan or an MRI ? What do you think ? I started to have problems again and it lasted 1 month.

Answer: Unless you have recently sustained any head trauma, and the last one was normal, chances are that getting the test done again will reveal nothing. You can always request this be done if you are worried or the symptoms you are experiencing are worse than previously experienced. But there are several reasons that could be causing your migraines, such as hormones, food, flashing lights, stress, etc. If the scan comes back normal you should see a doctor that specializes in migraines, either a neurologist or pain management doctor. The key to migraines is to prevent them as best you can, either by avoidance of triggers or with medication, if necessary. A good migraine specialist will be able to get you onto a regimen that will work for you to decrease the frequency and severity of migraines, and also get you an appropriate abortive medication for when you get one.

Question: How does one do "imaging" of an old well? I have an old well on my property that we just discovered while putting in the horse arena. How does one determine if its been filled in completely? Is there a machine that do "imaging" of the well to determine if its been completely filled in?

Answer: contact your local extension office (agriculture dept). They should be able to point you in the right direction to "reputable" well companies.

Question: What are some different methods of body imaging besides mri and ct scans? Doing a paper on imaging methods for chemistry and would like to know some other methods besides an mri and a ct scan and x-rays that science has available to get pictures and images of the human body

Answer: PET scan echocardiography ultrasound nuclear imaging

Question: where to get a thermal imaging video camera? My friends and I are going on a ghost hunt and we are looking for one of those thermal imaging video cameras and I don't know where to start looking for them. How much do they run from(price wise?) any suggestions would be great.

Answer: In Europe they start from the equivalent of about $2000

Question: What classes to take to go into career of editing special effects for movies, tv commercials, imaging, gaming? What classes to take to go into career of editing special effects for movies, tv commercials, imaging, pc gaming, creating web-sites? I'm not sure the name of the coarse. Is it available online?

Answer: I believe you are talking about digital video editing and digital video/digital film production. There are many such courses online. Just google these terms.

Question: How can imaging be utilised to determine the oxygenation status of a tumour? How can imaging be utilised to determine the oxygenation status of a tumour

Answer: Put something radioactive in the blood and then watch the tumor to see how the radioactive stuff propagates into it.

Question: Tim Russert's enlarged heart - could ultrasound or other imaging have detected it earlier? "an autopsy had found that Mr. Russert had an enlarged heart and significant coronary artery disease." Does that mean he didn't have regular health check up? Shouldn't this be caught before it's too late? Can ultrasound or other imaging find out a heart is enlarged?

Answer: They already reported that Russert had known coronary heart disease but that he was 'controlling' it with medications and exercise. Sometimes all the treatment in the world won't help you if you don't change your diet. If a plaque bursts, you really hit a bad break. His vessels may not have been that narrowed. A lot of people have mild cardiac enlargement and don't drop dead at 58. His body combined with diet and bad luck to create the perfect storm. An echocardiogram (ultrasound) or MRI could have shown the problem. Even a standard chest X ray can detect cardiac enlargement that would likely be obvious to a pathologist at autopsy. He probably had at least one of these tests, but one of the following happened: - he didn't have the heart enlargment at the time of the tests - the skill level of the interpreting physician was too low to make the diagnosis - there was some problem with the quality of the tests If you or any family member get an imaging study, try to get at least one other physician (who reads that type of study) to give you a second opinion if possible, with the help of your insurance company or primary care physician.

Question: What are some cons about working as an X-Ray or Imaging Tech? I have no doubt that it would be neat to be an imaging tech and I have no doubt that I can learn the trade and appreciate the work. However, every job has day to day annoyances. What could I expect in this field?

Answer: I am a radiologist and here are some of the annoyances of being an X-ray tech: A lot of X-rays and other exams get done late at night and on weekends. You will be expected to work a lot of odd hours. Sick people are often not very friendly. They can scream and yell at you, and you have to smile and be nice to them anyhow. A lot of us doctors are very demanding and/or obnoxious. We can be hard to deal with. If I give a patient a barium enema and they can't hold it and crap all over the table, I can walk out of the room. Guess who gets to clean it up?

Question: what is the difference between pet and spect imaging? i'm just looking for the basic technical differences. i know a bit about pet imaging such as how it follows a radiopharmaceutical through the body and essentially follows glucose flow (where the body "eats") but what is the difference between this and spect imaging?

Answer: The main difference is really in the radioactive materials used as tracers and the sensitivity of the detection methods. Because a PET(Positron Emission Tomography) scan needs radioactive materials with what is called a positron decay and this process produces two gamma rays moving in opposite directions, which can trace the location of the tracer radiopharmaceuticals better, and these radiopharmaceuticals have short life time, and are more expensive to produce, (PET has to be close to the facility that makes the tracers). SPECT is Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography and only traces one single radiation or a general radiation, not a simultanious double one, because of this it has a poorer image sensitivity and is cheaper because radioactive materials used have longer lifetime.

Question: Where can I get the computer-imaging software that surgeons use during a cosmetic surgery consultation? When you go to a cosmetic surgery consultation, one thing the surgeon often does is show you what you could possbly look like after the surgery using imaging software. It is a computer program similar to Photoshop. It might actually be Photoshop, but I'm not sure. Does anyone know where I can get this software? If I could get it for free, that would be even better! I would like to have cosmetic surgery and would like to learn more about the potential results I could achieve. Thanks a million!

Answer: One of the computer imaging softwares that plastic surgeons use is called AlterImage. It is quite expensive and not practical for patients to buy. It is better to just consult with a plastic surgeon and have him use his software. Or, if you really want to do it yourself, you can really actually use Photoshop. It does work in a similar way. Just makes it simpler for the plastic surgeons to learn.

Question: How can imaging be utilised to determine the proliferation status of a tumour? How can imaging be utilised to determine the proliferation status of a tumour

Answer: Imaging techniques in medicine include CAT scan (Computerised Axial Tomography), MRI scan (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and more specialised ones like PET scans. These direct rays of electromagnetic waves eg X-rays or ultrasound at an organ or tissue from various directions, then prepare a 3-D image by computer of the organ/tumour. Subsequently its size can quite readily be computed, and monitored over time.

Question: Can anyone with experience with disk imaging software tell me how it works? I have been looking at sites to try and figure out how imaging works. I understand that it takes a copy of your drive so if something went wrong, it would restore it back to its original state. But my question is how does it work? Lets say I have one 40GB drive that holds my OS and a second 500GB drive for data. Does it copy both drives? If one drive dies and I replace it, will all the data be recovered or is imaging more for registry and spyware problems?

Answer: Imaging is like taking a photo of your hard drive. For example if you have a total failure on a 40Gb drive the image can be placed on a new 250Gb drive. This will reinstate the new drive with all the programs, data and registry and even expand the partition to cover the complete 250Gb. Hope this makes some sense. Who dares wins.

Question: Dermatologist in San Francisco bay area using photography or computer imaging for skin cancer screening? With blond hair, blue eyes, and lots of freckles, I am considered a high risk skin cancer contender. I have been doing a good deal of reading and it sounds as if most dermatologists cannot detect the very early forms of skin cancer, such as lesions under 3mm. I am looking for any recommendations in the bay area of dermatologists that use photographic imaging or computer mapping to aid in diagnosis and monitoring. Someone on the peninsula would be ideal. Thanks!

Answer: I'm not to sure but maybe seek more opinions?

Question: Can anyone suggest where to mount a humminbird 997c side imaging transducer to a 189 Nitro Fish & Ski boat? I just bought a humminbird 997c side imaging fish finder. I have a 189 Nitro Sport Fish & Ski boat. I am having a hard time finding a place to mount the transduer where it will be far enough from the motor (out board) and yet have a clear view from the two side standing boards on the rear. Anyone have any pictures of where they mounted their transducers that I can look at?

Answer: Are you intending on mounting them inside the hull, or on the outside of the transom? What do they have on display @ the "Tracker" dealer? It's my understanding that the 997c is a very good unit, top of the line quality, & I can understand your reluctance to just start drilling holes in your "Nitro", as that is a pricey boat to start with. I'd start with looking at other boats, talking with the owners, & the guys in the shop @ a local marina, you know? Just to see if there are any hidden issues that you might need to know about. Goodluck, & Good fishing