When a health concern arises, getting answers quickly can help guide the next steps in your care. Whether it’s unexplained pain, a new symptom, an injury, or a concern identified during a routine exam, imaging services help providers better understand what’s happening inside the body.
Winona Health’s Imaging Services department uses advanced technology to create detailed images that aid in diagnosis and treatment planning.
Our imaging technology helps detect and evaluate a wide range of conditions, including heart disease, neurological disorders, injuries, and many types of cancer. With a full range of imaging services available, patients can get the answers they need while remaining connected to their care team throughout the diagnostic process.
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A bone density measurement will determine your bone mineral density (BMD) for the area measured and compare that result with the average BMD of young adult normals of the same gender and race at their peak BMD. This information will help your doctor determine if you need to take certain steps to protect your bone health. Bone density measurement is simple, safe, noninvasive and painless.
A Computerized Tomography (CT) scan combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles around your body and uses computer processing to create cross-sectional images, sometime referred to as slices. CT allows the technologists to get images of many body parts including bones, blood vessels, and soft tissues. CT scan images provide your doctor with more detailed information than X-rays do. The CT exam does not take very long, and you may need an oral or IV contrast (a substance that enhances images of blood vessels) depending on what kind of study you are having done.
Echocardiography uses an Ultrasound machine to evaluate the heart’s structure and function.
Services include:
- Cardiac Ultrasounds
- Contrast-Enhanced Imaging
- Bubble Study Imaging
MRI is used to obtain images from areas of the body by means of a strong magnetic field and a radio frequency. The images are helpful in evaluating body parts with great detail from multiple angles.
MRI is used to diagnose possible issues including internal bleeding, tumors, injury, blood vessel diseases or infection, and MRI exams provide more detailed information about problems seen on an X-ray, ultrasound scan, or CT scan.
MRI Screening and Safety: What you need to know
Patient and caregiver safety is our top priority. No exceptions. That’s why our safety standards require every patient and visitor to change into scrubs or a gown before entering the MRI suite. The static magnetic field of our MRI system generates a magnetic pull approximately 21,000 times greater than the earth’s natural field. That means:- Certain objects or devices could become airborne. In the MRI suite, an object could fly to the center of the magnet, impaling anything or anyone in its path.
- Some types of fibers used in clothing and some skin products can affect the MRI technology and/or your safety.
- Tell the technologist in advance if you have any devices or metal in your body. We need the name of the manufacturer and lot number of any implanted devices. Not all implants are safe to scan (i.e., pacemakers).
- Everything in our MRI room is made to be MRI safe, including the cart, wheelchair, power injector, laundry bin and headphones for music.
one in eight women will develop breast cancer sometime in her lifetime. The stage at which breast cancer is detected influences a woman’s chance of survival. If detected early, the five-year survival rate is 98 percent.
Mammography is the most accurate x-ray method available for detecting lumps in the breast. An x-ray examination of the breast can detect lumps much sooner than they may be felt through self-breast examination. Mammograms are examined by radiologists who are specially trained in diagnosing breast disease.
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Nuclear medicine is a specialty within radiology that uses a small amount of radioactive materials, or radiopharmaceuticals, to evaluate the body’s anatomy (structure) and physiology. A specific radiopharmaceutical is injected into a patient through an IV and absorbed by a specific organ or tissue. Nuclear medicine technologists then take images of where the radiopharmaceutical went into the patient’s body using gamma cameras, which are basically large radiation detectors. The images obtained during a nuclear medicine scan helps the healthcare provider assess and diagnose various conditions, such as heart, brain, bones, thyroid, gallbladder or kidney function.
PET/CT (Positron Emission Tomography/ Computed Tomography) is a medical imaging procedure that provides physicians with information about the body’s chemistry, cell function, and location of disease that is not available through CT, MRI, X-ray, or physical examination. Unlike CT or MRI, which look at anatomy (body structure), PET/CT studies reveal body function or the biology of diseases. Winona Health has partnered with DMS Health Technologies mobile service to bring this technology to Winona.
The PET/CT study assists physicians in earlier detection of disease, monitoring the status and response to treatment, and in providing the most appropriate treatment plans.
PET/CT is available by provider referral. (Read more…)X-rays use a small amount of radiation to produce images of bones and internal organs. These images allow providers to diagnose broken bones and other illnesses, as well as monitor the progression of diseases, cancers, and the healing of broken bones. X-rays are performed on an outpatient basis or as part of inpatient care. You may receive an x-ray for a variety of reasons including but not limited to:
- Diagnosing tumors and bone or joint injuries
- Diagnostic procedures such as in Fluoroscopy (using live X-ray to evaluate the structure and function of internal organs)
- To track treatment effectiveness (for example, having a chest X-ray following treatment for pneumonia)
- To rule out problems and reasons for pain
- You may be given a gown and asked to remove clothing and/or jewelry.
- You will be asked to lie on an exam table, sit on a stool or stand for your X-ray.
- You may be given a covering to protect parts of the body most sensitive to radiation during your X-rays if those are not the areas being examined.
- The X-ray beam will be focused over the area of interest.
- There may be a need for several X-rays at different angles to provide images of the area of interest.
Sonography, also called diagnostic ultrasound is an imaging method that uses high frequency sound waves to image internal body structures. Ultrasound can be used for diagnosing and treating a number of conditions including vascular disease, abdominal and pelvic organs, soft tissue structures such as thyroid and breasts, and to check the growth and health of a developing fetus.
Ultrasound
Women’s Health has a 4D ultrasound machine for prenatal patients. The GE VOLUSON 730 PRO ultrasound machine displays three-dimensional ultrasound images as they happen, showing detailed fetal anatomy. Having the latest ultrasound technology available to our patients is an exciting thing. Prenatal patients can be seen right here in our community for high quality care and high quality images of their baby.
Prenatal patients seen in Women’s Health will receive a 3D ultrasound between eighteen and twenty weeks as part of their regular ultrasound appointment. Ultrasound images are then reviewed by Winona Health radiologists to verify the health of the baby and check for potential fetal abnormalities. High resolution 3D ultrasound allows for high quality imaging that allows us to see the baby’s internal organs and facial features better than ever. As a special keepsake, each patient also receives photos during this ultrasound.
This special delivery was a gift from the Winona Health Volunteers who raised funds to help purchase this machine. The Winona Health Volunteers felt that this piece of equipment was a priority for the organization. The 4D ultrasound machine was chosen to enhance the diagnostic capabilities of physicians to give our new mothers, fathers and their babies excellent care.
What is a transvaginal ultrasound?
Transvaginal ultrasound is a standard diagnostic procedure used to obtain high-resolution images of the cervix or early pregnancy. This exam involves the internal placement of a specialized probe to confirm viability, determine accurate gestational age, or evaluate cervical health.
Why Ultrasound?
What to expect during your OB/GYN ultrasound
What is a transvaginal ultrasound?
Transvaginal ultrasound is a standard diagnostic procedure used to obtain high-resolution images of the cervix or early pregnancy. This exam involves the internal placement of a specialized probe to confirm viability, determine accurate gestational age, or evaluate cervical health.
Why Ultrasound?
- Establish the presence of a living embryo/fetus.
- Estimate the age of the pregnancy.
- Diagnose congenital abnormalities of the fetus.
- Evaluate the position of the fetus.
- Evaluate the position of the placenta.
- Determine if there are multiple gestations.
- Determine the amount of amniotic fluid around the baby.
- Check for opening or shortening of the cervix.
- Assess fetal growth.
- Assess fetal well-being.
Contact Information
Radiology & Imaging Services
