Imaging Unlocks Secrets

Medical imaging technologies are becoming important tools in one of the most difficult specialties, brain disorders. Medical professionals now have several imaging tools to help them sort through the mysteries of neuroscience.

Imaging technologies are used to understand the relationships between specific areas of the brain and what function they serve, to locate areas of the brain affected by neurological disorders, and develop new strategies to treat brain disorders.

Imaging Options

Noninvasive procedures like Angiography, Computed Tomography (CT) Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) measure biological activity through the skull and illuminate the living human brain. Each technique provides different information about brain structure and function.

Computed Tomography, or CT scans create cross-sectional images of the brain to show its structure. The images are created when a series of X-rays pass through the head and the images are developed on film. CT scans can't help with learning about brain function. Likewise, angiography produces an image of the blood vessels of the brain, tracking with X-rays dye injected into the bloodstream.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) uses radio frequency signals to provide an anatomical view of the brain. MRIs provide a detailed view of the brain in different dimensions, both on the surface and deep brain structures. MRIs can be used to detect minute changes in these structures that occur over time.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or (fMRI), detects changes in blood flow to particular areas of the brain, providing an anatomical and a functional view of the brain.

With fMRI, changes in brain activity can be tracked as patients perform different tasks or are exposed to various stimuli. An fMRI scan is quick, and can produce images of brain activity as fast as every second. This gives researchers and medical professionals a better idea of when and for how long different brain regions become active. They can track when brain activity is simultaneous or sequential in different regions as a patient thinks, feels, or reacts to experimental conditions.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a technique that detects radioactive material that has been either injected or inhaled. The scan of the material produces an image of the brain and the radioactive material. Radioactively labeled oxygen or glucose will be detected in areas of the brain that are metabolically active.

Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) also uses radioactive tracers and a scanner to record data used to construct two or three-dimensional images of active brain regions.

Benefits

Researches using these diagnostic imaging tools are increasing our knowledge about brain function.  All of the techniques work to uncover defects in the anatomy and the function of the brain. Imaging is used to diagnose and research acute stroke and to study neurological, cognitive, and behavioral disorders like autism, attention deficit disorder and schizophrenia cognitive function.

HEI produces and services the highest density power subsystems used in imaging equipment, implements sophisticated electromechanical packaging techniques, enhances imaging systems and develops the most advanced software used for imaging applications. For more information, visit www.heii.com.