Summary:
Although there are numerous tools available to doctors for diagnosing illnesses, three of the most common are known by their nicknames: CT, PET, and MRI. Each method of testing uses technology differently, and when one isn´t enough to draw a conclusion, they can be used in tandem to provide more detailed information that can aid in diagnoses.

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... So how do doctors know which one to order? Although it may seem as though it depends on which machine is conveniently available, it isn’t. It depends on what the doctors are looking for, or want to rule out.

CT or CAT Scan
Your Little Leaguer takes a mighty line drive to the shin, and it’s fairly apparent he has a broken bone or two. The emergency room doctor wants detailed information about the break and any possible internal bleeding or nerve damage, so he orders a CT scan.

CT is short for Computed Tomography (formerly referred to as Computed Axial Tomography, or CAT). A CT scan is an especially sophisticated x-ray machine. An
x-ray is a type of radiation, focused as a beam, that makes a kind of “photograph” of the inside of the body where the rays are directed, such as the foot or arm, so it can reveal, for example, broken bones. A CT uses specialized x-ray and computer equipment that convert very detailed x-rays to digital images, including cross-sectional views, that will provide considerably more information about your son’s injuries than standard x-rays. So your pint-sized Mickey Mantle will lie comfortably on a table while the CT scanner, which looks like an over-sized doughnut, virtually “slices up” the structures it sees and, while rotating around the area, takes a picture of a succession of “slices” every second. Each 3D image is saved on the computer so that it can be studied by the radiologist, a doctor who specializes in x-ray technology.

CTs are also useful for diagnosing bone disorders such as tumors and fractures, cancer or heart disease, and internal injuries.

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PET Scan
Your mother, who has already had one heart attack, is rushed to the emergency room for another suspected heart attack. Because of her history, the ER doctor orders a PET scan to determine the extent of damage to the heart muscle.

PET is shorthand for Positron Emission Tomography, a test that uses a “radiotracer,” or simply “tracer,” a radioactive chemical that enters your body through an IV and is followed by a high-technology camera as it courses through your bloodstream. The tracer collects in the area being examined, where it emits positively charged atoms that are recorded by the camera and converted to digital images on a computer screen. A PET does not reveal clear structural images but rather any “hot spots” of increased metabolic activity as revealed by the tracer, which may suggest decreased blood flow, nonfunctioning heart muscle, or an area of disease. Combining the images of a CT scan with PET scan images provides...
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a diagnostic tool that relies on a magnetic field and radio wave energy to produce pictures of internal organs and structures. MRIs give different information about structures in the body than x-rays, ultrasound, or CTs. MRIs may also reveal problems that other imaging methods cannot. Pictures from an MRI scan are digital images that can be saved and stored on a computer for detailed analysis.

After a pre-screening interview to determine the presence of any forms of metal in her body, including tattoos, implants, shrapnel, and body piercings, your wife lies comfortably on a table in a position that allows the area of the body being studied to be exposed to a strong magnet, and the table slides into position inside a cylindrical piece of equipment. The resulting images are reviewed by a radiologist, who sends a report to your wife’s doctor. In some cases a contrast material is used during the MRI to provide additional information.

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