Medical imaging uses technology to look inside the body to diagnose, treat and monitor diseases and injuries. Doctors trained specifically in imaging, called radiologists, do some of this.
A clinical radiologist is a specialist doctor who uses their expert training in imaging to detect and diagnose disease and injury in patients using a wide range of imaging techniques, including ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) and x-rays. Radiologists also run clinics, take biopsy samples, prepare patients for surgery, and use real-time imaging to perform minimally invasive surgery, called interventional radiology. However, medical imaging relies on a whole team rather than an individual. Radiologists work alongside radiographers, who are specially trained in taking the images (and sometimes reporting them) but are not doctors; medical physicists, who are:
Sadly, you may never meet many of these people!
Medical imaging aims to answer a question that is not apparent from how your body feels and looks or from other tests like blood tests. Medical imaging relies on a'request' from your doctor or specialist, which details who you are and the question. You will then be ‘scanned’, which is the process of taking the image. This image is then stored in a computer database and looked at by a radiologist or radiographer specially trained to'read' it (that is, pull as much information as possible). They will then produce a'report', a written (these days, normally typed) summary of what they think is shown on the image. The report goes into your medical notes for your doctor or specialist to look at. Sometimes, you may also be seen in the clinic for interventional radiology.