Table 1.
Comparison of various imaging methods.
| Imaging methods | Advantages | Disadvantages | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computerized Tomography (CT) | • Painless, noninvasive and accurate | • Radiation | • Brain tumors. |
| • Blood clots and blood | |||
| • Image bone, soft tissue | vessel defects. enlarged ventricles | ||
| and blood vessels all at the same time | |||
| • Not recommended for pregnant women | • Abnormalities in the | ||
| nerves or muscles of the eye | |||
| • Fast and simple | |||
| Positron Emission Tomography (PET) | • Double the diagnostic clarity compared to CT | • Not recommended for pregnant women | • Cancer |
| • Heart disease | |||
| • Diabetics require certain precautions. | • Brain disorders | ||
| • Easy,Nondisruptive | |||
| Single-photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPET) | • More available and widely used | • Long scan times | • Functional brain imaging |
| • Low-resolution and prone to artifacts and attenuation | |||
| • Functional cardiac imaging | |||
| • Less expensive than PET | |||
| Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) | • No radiation | • Expensive | • Anomalies of the brain and spinal cord |
| • Apparent, detailed images of soft-tissue structures compared to other imaging techniques | • Cannot find all cancers | ||
| • Tumors, cysts, and other anomalies in various parts of the body | |||
| • Cannot always distinguish between malignant or benign tumors | |||
| • Breast cancer screening for women who face a high risk of breast cancer | |||
| • Injuries or abnormalities of the joints, such as the back and knee | |||
| • Certain types of heart conditions | |||
| • Diseases of the liver and other abdominal organs | |||
| • The evaluation of pelvic pain in women, with causes including fibroids and endometriosis | |||
| • Suspected uterine anomalies in women undergoing infertility evaluation | |||