Diagnostic Imaging
with Alex Munitz, MD
Diagnostic imaging is important in virtually every area of medicine and radiologists often serve as the eyes and ears of physicians. “Imaging, both anatomic and functional, is vital to almost every medical condition,” says Alex Munitz, MD, FACR, Chairman of the Department of Radiology at GBMC.
The field of diagnostic imaging has made tremendous progress in the past several years, due in part to the increased power of computers. “As computers have become more powerful, we’ve become better able to deal with massive amounts of information,” says Dr. Munitz. “Technology has allowed us to image volumes of information in every plane and dimension.”
Diagnostic imaging includes ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) and nuclear medicine, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Breast imaging includes mammography, ultrasound and MRI. Interventional radiology and oncology are also included in the discipline of radiology.
According to Dr. Munitz, CT is one of the most exciting areas of radiology. Three- dimensional images are created from two -dimensional slices that provide a detailed image of the patient’s anatomy. Intravenous and oral contrasts (dyes) further enhance the images. “For many years, we’ve been able to image slices of the body, but now the slice thickness has diminished and our ability to reconstruct in different projections has improved. We now have a very sophisticated method to view images in three dimensions,” he says. For more information about CT scans, read Dr. Lee Goodman’s article.
PET scanning is an imaging technique where the patient is injected with a substance that targets a specific molecular process inside a cell. During the test, radiologists are able to image how the body is functioning. Recent technology has fused PET and CT scans. “PET scans show a patient’s metabolic information but the results are very low in resolution, more like a fuzzy, hot spot, whereas CT scans are very high resolution and if the two are fused together we can see both form and function in the body,” says Dr. Munitz.
MRI tests are also becoming more sophisticated as technology advances. “MRI is an extremely useful test because it is able to provide high resolution and metabolic characterization of tissues, which cannot be imaged with CT,” says Dr. Munitz. “Pathologic processes are seen well with MRI.” For more information about PET or MRI scans, read Dr. Ma’s article.
Typically, diagnostic tests are read by radiology specialists. “For example, nuclear medicine studies are read by nuclear medicine physicians,” says Dr. Munitz. “All exams are read by highly trained specialists and we try to get our patients an accurate reading as quickly as possible.”
At GBMC, quality is a priority. “We use state of the art equipment and have a very highly qualified group of radiologists,” says Dr. Munitz. “We are dedicated to providing the right service to the right patient at the right time.”
