Diagnostic Imaging Tests

Your physician will receive a written report within 24-48 hours, if not sooner. If your physician requests a result more urgently, a report can be faxed to your physician the same day as your examination.

Your examination will be interpreted by a Radiologist, a physician with special training in Diagnostic Radiology. All our physicians are board-certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and have done additional subspecialty training in different areas of Radiology.

You will need a valid health card and requisition form signed by the referring physician.

Ultrasound and bone Mineral Density exams require appointments. Please try to arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment to register.

Regular X-rays are done on a walk-in basis. The wait time for X-rays is variable, depending on the time of day.

The results of the ultrasound examination are determined by both the real time (observed during the examination) and the final static images produced. After the examination, this information is reviewed by a radiologist in order to generate a written report for your referring doctor.

You will be asked to change into a patient gown prior to your exam. Ultrasound imaging is painless easy and relatively fast. The part of your body being scanned depends on the exam requested by your physician. You will be asked to lie on an exam table and the technologist (sonographer) will spread a lubricant gel on your skin and then press a hand held transducer firmly against your skin on the areas of the requested exam. The gel helps the transducer,(the device that sends sound waves into your body) to make secure contact with your skin and eliminate any air pockets. The transducer is moved back and forth until the desired images are acquired. You will be asked to hold your breath for brief periods of time so that high quality motion free images can be obtained. You may feel some be slight discomfort from pressure as the sonographer guides the transducer over your abdomen, especially if you are required to have a full bladder. The examination takes an average of 30 minutes and you will be able to immediately resume your pre-examination activities.

A completed referral form (requisition) signed by your physician is required to book an appointment for ultrasound. Please bring your requisition and health insurance card with you on the day of your appointment.

Ultrasound uses non-ionizing radiation and is extremely safe. No x-rays are used and there are no known harmful effects or complications.

A radiologist specialized in the imaging and diagnosis of disease will review the x-ray images and prepare a written report that is sent to your referring physician. Your physician will consider this information in context of your overall care and discuss the results with you.

Ultrasound based diagnostic imaging techniques are used to visualize muscles and internal organs (including the heart, blood vessels, uterus & bladder), their size, structures and possible pathologies or lesions as well as blood flow through blood vessels. Obstetric Ultrasound is commonly used during pregnancy to assess fetal well being, determine fetal position, verify diagnosis of multiple gestational sacs (twins etc) and rule out ectopic pregnancy. Ultrasound provides information for your physician about the specific soft tissue structure being examined, or about the blood flow in vessels within the soft tissues. Soft tissue structures include a mass in or around a joint, or in a muscle or within your abdomen or pelvis.

The following parts of the body can be imaged using Ultrasound:

• Abdomen: liver, gall bladder, pancreas, spleen major blood vessels.
• Pelvic: reproductive organs, appendix, bladder.
• Obstetrics: rregnancies 1st trimester.
• Superficial structures: thyroid, breast, scrotum.
• Extremities (musculoskeletal): tendons and muscles (shoulder, elbow, knee, ankle, wrist).

The medical radiologic technologist will escort you to a dressing room where you will be given a patient gown, if necessary, and you will be asked to remove specific articles of your clothing that may interfere with the exam to ensure that the x-ray is free of artifacts (e.g. material from your clothing, zippers, snaps, buttons, clips, jewelry metal objects etc.). You will then be taken to the x-ray room where you be asked by the technologist to stand, sit or be positioned on an x-ray table based on the type of exam your physician has requested. After the technologist has completed taking your x-rays, you may be asked to wait in the x-ray room while your images are reviewed for diagnostic quality. Additional images are occasionally required to ensure the examination completely demonstrates the area in clinical question.

In many cases wearing a patient gown is necessary because many items (e.g. coins, keys zippers buttons, wallets cards etc) can show up on your x-ray and obscure or cover pertinent information.

For a routine x-ray examination, no preparation is required. The average x-ray study takes approx 15-20 minutes to complete.

If you are pregnant or think you may be pregnant, be sure to inform your physician and the technologist prior to the start of the x-ray examination. Most examinations using x-ray will not be performed on pregnant women unless the benefits of the examination outweigh the risks of radiation exposure to the fetus.

X-ray uses ionizing radiation. Qualified radiologic technologists are trained in radiation safety and protection and use techniques utilizing the minimal dose to achieve optimal results. Lead aprons and shields are used for adequate shielding. All examinations performed are well within permissible levels of diagnostic radiation dosage. If your physician has referred you for an x-ray, he/she has decided that its value outweigh any risk. On some occasions extra views of an area may be required to better demonstrate anatomy or pathology.

An x-ray image (also known as radiograph) is produced when a small amount of radiation passes through a body part and is recorded on film or computer to produce a black and white anatomical image. Areas that are more difficult for x-rays to penetrate such as bone appear white on the image and areas that x-rays penetrate more easily such as lungs or other areas filled with air appear black. Soft tissue, vessels and organs appear as various shades of grey on the x ray image depending on their composition.

X-rays are commonly used to determine the presence or absence of disease, bone or joint abnormalities, bone fractures, demonstrate pathology, detect foreign objects in the body, and demonstrate relationships between bone and tissue or to check internal organs such as heart and lungs. The most frequently performed exam is a chest x-ray.

The radiologist will generate a written report which will be sent to your referring physician.

You will be asked to lie down on an exam table for approx 15-20 minutes whilst a small x-ray detector scans the spine, hip or both. Once the exam is completed you are free to leave and resume your normal daily activities.

Calcium, Vitamin D and Multi Vitamins must be stopped 48 hours prior to appointment. No Barium or IV Contrast studies with in 10 days

A written referral signed by your physician is required prior to booking an appointment for a BMD exam. You must bring the referral form with you for appointment. Prior to booking an appointment please advise your physician if you recently had a barium examination or if you have been injected with a contrast media or radioisotope scan.

As we age our bones naturally become thinner as calcium and other minerals are lost causing the bones to become lighter, less dense, and more porous (osteopenia). This makes the bones weaker, and increases the risk of a fracture. With further bone loss, osteopenia leads to osteoporosis a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly and silently until a bone breaks. Any bone can be affected, but typically fractures occur in the hip, spine, and wrist. A hip fracture almost always requires hospitalization and major surgery and can impair a person's ability to walk unassisted and may cause prolonged or permanent disability. Spinal or vertebral fractures also have serious consequences, including loss of height, severe back pain, and deformity. Although osteoporosis can occur in men, it is most common in women older than age 65.

A BMD test is a non-invasive diagnostic procedure that measures the density of minerals (such ascalcium) in bones using a special X-ray, Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). This methodology uses two different X-ray beams to estimate bone density in your spine and hip and can measure as little as 2% of bone loss per year strength of your bones. The procedure is fast, painless and uses very low doses of radiation to measure BMD and provides valuable information for estimation of the strength of your bones.