Procedures and Services

Diagnostic Imaging

The Good Samaritan Hospital (GSH) Diagnostics Department uses a variety of digital imaging technology to diagnose illnesses and injuries in both an inpatient and outpatient setting. These technologies, or modalities, are Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resource Imaging (MRI), Ultrasound, and Digital Radiology, a digital version of analog X-ray technology. In addition, inpatient diagnostic services also include nuclear medicine, special procedures, and electroencephalogram (EEG).

Computed Tomography

Computed Tomography (CT scan) is medical imaging technology that uses X-rays to create cross-sectional pictures or “slices” of the scanned part of the body. These images can be digitally manipulated so doctors and technicians can review the image as a cross-section of the body. Physicians or technologists can also stack and review images three-dimensionally to see the area in question in greater detail from many different angles.
 
Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a digital imaging technology that uses a powerful magnet to provide a cross-sectional picture or “slice” of the scanned body part. Similar to CT scans, the images can be manipulated so physicians and technicians can see the area in great detail from many perspectives.

Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear Medicine imaging is a digital imaging technology that uses radiopharmaceuticals to help diagnose and/or treat disease.  Nuclear medicine helps the physician diagnose and/or treat functional problems that the patient may have in specific areas of the body.

Positron Emission Technology (PET Scan)

Position Emission Technology (PET scan) is a digital imaging technology similar to Nuclear Medicine scanning. However, it is used primarily to diagnose metabolic diseases within the body.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound imaging uses sound waves to provide a digital image of the scanned area of ranging from echocardiography (heart) to OB exams (imaging of the baby in the uterus) the body.

Diagnostic Radiology

Diagnostic radiology uses X-rays to provide digital images of the area being scanned.

Interventional Radiology

Interventional Radiology procedures are less invasive, targeted treatments performed using imaging for guidance. These procedures have less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery. Interventional Radiology includes both vascular intervention and non-vascular intervention. It incorporates techniques with image guidance, using CT, fluoroscopy, ultrasound, or MRI. Interventional Radiology is done in an inpatient setting.

Electroencephalogram

Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a technique used for studying the electrical current within the brain. Done in an in patient setting, an EEG uses electrodes that are attached to the scalp in order to record brain activity. Different patterns of electrical impulses can denote various problems in the brain.

Diagnostic Testing

Physicians use many diagnostic procedures other than imaging tests to help determine diagnoses. These tests analyze systems of the body so that physicians can eliminate healthy systems and focus on problem indicators to make the appropriate diagnosis.

Blood Test

A blood test is the extraction of blood from a vein, often from the arm, followed by laboratory analysis of the blood sample. Analysis can include a variety of tests on the patient’s plasma or serum, including tests for:

• Antibodies
• Cancer
• Drug effectiveness
• Hormones
• Pregnancy
• Thyroid
• White/red cell levels

Urinalysis

A urinalysis is the physical, chemical, and microscopic examination of urine. It involves a number of tests to detect and measure various compounds that pass through the urine.

Angiogram/Arteriogram

Angiography uses radiography (x-ray) or CT imaging of vessels after the injection of a material to help show the vessels in contrast to other parts of the body. Arteriography shows an artery or arteries by using radiography (x-ray) or CT imaging after injection of material to contrast the artery from other parts of the body and other blood vessels.

The various types of angiograms and arteriograms include:

• Aortic angiography (the major artery from the heart)
• Cerebral angiography (head)
• Coronary angiography (heart)
• Extremity arteriography (arm/leg)
• Fluorescein angiography (eye)
• Lymphangiogram (lymph vessels)
• Pulmonary angiography (lungs)
• Renal arteriography (kidneys)
• Ventriculography (right/left side of the heart)

Electrocardiogram

An electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG) is a test that records the heart’s electrical activity.  An ECG measures the rate and regularity of heartbeats as well as the size and position of heart chambers and the effects of drugs/devices used to regulate the heart, such as a pacemaker.

Echocardiography stress test

An echocardiography stress test helps diagnose heart disease using ultrasound images. Following exercise or other stress to the heart, this form of medical imaging reveals parts of the heart that may not be receiving enough blood or oxygen because of blocked arteries.

Holter monitor

A Holter monitor continuously records the heart’s rhythms during routine activity over a 24-hour period.

Pulmonary Function Tests

Pulmonary Function Tests are a broad range of tests usually performed in a health care provider’s office or a specialized facility. These measure how well the lungs intake and expel air and how efficiently they transfer oxygen to the blood. The following tests are a small sample of the major procedures available.

• Spirometry measures how well the lungs exhale. The information gathered during this test is most useful for assessing obstructive lung diseases, especially asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Lung volume measurement detects restrictive lung diseases, where a person cannot inhale a normal volume. Restrictive lung diseases may be caused by inflammation or scarring of the lung tissue, known as interstitial lung disease, or by abnormalities of the muscles or skeleton of the chest wall
• Diffusion capacity testing (DLCO) allows health care providers to estimate how efficiently the lungs transfer oxygen from the air into the bloodstream

Unique Inpatient Diagnostic Procedures

GSH also offers a variety of unique inpatient diagnostic procedures for Dayton residents, such as:

• Fibroid Embolization
• Radio ablation of cancerous lesions
• Deep vein thrombectomy
• Pain management—facet injections, SI joint injection
• Kyphoplasties
• Vertebroplasties
• Biliary drainage
• Minimally invasive biopsies
• Nephrostomy tube placement
• IVC filters
• TIPS procedures
• Thorocentesis
• Paracentesis
• CT-guided biopsies