Medical Imaging in Increasing Dimensions
By Ge Wang
Combining technologies and moving into virtual space makes seeing into the body more accurate and beneficial.
This Article From Issue
September-October 2023
Volume 111, Number 5
Page 294
In May 2022, I had a dizzy spell and went to Albany Medical Center. Worried that I might be having a stroke, my care team ordered computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Both are needed to determine whether a patient should receive thrombolytic therapy to destroy blood clots (if brain vessel blockage is shown by CT) or other interventions to save neurologic functions (as evaluated by MRI). I had the CT scan first, which took only a few seconds, but I had to wait until the next day for the MRI scan, which took more than 20 minutes.
QUICK TAKE
- Medical imaging has come a long way since the first x-ray photo in 1895, and can now produce dynamic 3D models of patients’ bodies to aid doctors’ diagnoses.
- The more types of technologies combined in medical scans, the more dimensional views and scales of details become available in the resulting images.
- The next step is to combine all relevant imaging modalities into a single machine that can view patients from all angles, perhaps even directing AI-enhanced remote surgeons.
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