Posts Tagged ‘Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri’

Specializing in cardiac and vascular-interventional radiography is a challenging career choice for a medical doctor, but it is also a rewarding and lucrative choice due to the specialized nature of this work. Cardiac and vascular-interventional radiography is a subspecialty in the field of radiography that is dedicated to cardiovascular imaging and image guided surgery. It will take many years of schooling and training, but you will be able to enjoy a high paying career involving the diagnoses and treatment of various illnesses once it’s all through.

The great thing about cardiac and vascular-interventional radiography is the minimally invasive nature of these imaging exams and treatments. As a radiographer you will be trained to use images to direct interventional procedures with needles and catheters in order to diagnose and treat diseases. These specialized procedures reduce infections and shorten recovery time compared to other intervention techniques. There has been a myriad of advancements in this field since the 1970s, after the Seldinger technique and other improved methods were introduced.

As a medical doctor specializing in cardiac and vascular-interventional-radiography you will be trained to perform imaging modalities including computed tomography (CT), fluoroscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound (US). The fastest and most accurate techniques are computed tomography and fluoroscopy, but these are also the most potentially harmful to the doctor and patient. Magnetic resonance imaging offers excellent images with high tissue contrast, but it is expensive and requires some of the most specialized instruments in this field. Ultrasound imaging is fast and inexpensive, but it often produces images with lower quality and tissue contrast problems. You will have to decide when one method is preferable over another depending on the situation.

The training you will need to complete to become a cardiac and vascular-interventional radiologist will include the completion of a four-year bachelor’s degree, four years of medical school, a preliminary year of training (internship), a four year diagnostic radiology residency program, and a one or two year fellowship in vascular and interventional radiology. It sounds like a lot, and it is, but many people find that the rewards of this important career are worth the initial hardships.



If you are thinking about specializing in mammography in your radiology career, you could be making an excellent choice that you will not regret. The work that mammography experts do is highly important to patients and to the medical community. Whether you are a high school student only thinking about applying to school for the first time, a college student choosing your specialty in the field or a radiology professional considering changing specializations, mammography is worth a second thought.

Choosing to specialize in mammography can open many new doors to you that were otherwise closed because you didn’t have the specialized training. Your training in this field will prepare you to do important work that is focused on the human breast, specifically with diagnosing and treating breast cancer in many cases. Basically, mammographers use low-dose amplitude x-rays on patients to detect breast cancer early in its stages and treat it as effectively as possible. Early detection increases the chances of beating the disease and living a long, healthy life, so there are clearly some personal rewards to doing this type of work.

Most people living in the United States are accustomed to campaigns that encourage women between the ages of 50 and 74 to get mammograms on a regular basis to diagnose breast cancer as early as possible and treat it as aggressively as possible. But there is more to this field than just mammography, as those already working in this field know. Ultrasound technology, positron emission mammography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ductography may also be required for your job. These are all skills and technologies you are sure to learn in a comprehensive educational program.

The specialized education and long hours on your feet are worth it when you consider the fact that you are saving lives and being sensitive to patients’ needs. Specializing in mammography can provide many personal rewards, and it is also steady work in the health care field that typically comes with set hours and benefits. If you are thinking of going into radiology or currently working in the field this is an excellent specialization.

Interventional radiology (IR) refers to the special practices performed under the minimally invasive treatment procedure. It uses image guidance technology to find more precision in the treatment. Such images are considered to direct the treatment procedure that may include the use of needle or other tiny instruments like small tubes or catheters. So the interventional radiologist can find a lager assistant to direct these instruments through the body to the area of damaged parts. This particular technique has really proved to be helpful to diagnose some of the most perilous diseases including cancer. Its methods are done purely for diagnostic purposes per se angiogram.

The IR technique uses some common interventional modalities like fluoroscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), ultrasound scanner. Fluoroscopy and CT use ionizing radiation to find fast and geometrically accurate treatment. MRI technique is also capable to provide superior tissue contrast, but it requires a specialized instrument, therefore it is a little expansive for the patients.

There are some common procedures for which interventional radiology techniques is performed. Some of the procedures are as-

Angiography- it is the X-ray imaging of blood vessels to identify blockage or narrowing of the vessels. With the help of IR images, physicians can insert a small stent to inflate and open the blocked vessels.

Balloon angioplasty/stent- here doctor uses a small balloon on the tip of the catheter to widen the narrowed vessel.

Embolization- it includes the insertion process of a substance through a catheter into the blood vessel to check hemorrhaging, or excessive bleeding.

Chemoembolization- under this method, the treatment is directly given to a tumor through its blood supply. It uses clot-inducing substance to check blood flow in the artery.

Needle biopsy- here a small needle is inserted into the damaged part of the body, guided by imaging techniques. Such biopsy can be performed without surgical intervention.

Catheters insertions- in this process a catheter is inserted into large vein for delivering chemotherapy drugs, nutritional support, and hemodialysis. The catheters can be divided into five types, such as diagnostic angiographic catheters, micro catheters, drainage catheters, balloon catheters, central venous catheters.

The radiology treatment needs a team of well qualified physicians deliver more precision in the interventional radiological treatment procedures. So that the fatal diseases like cancer can be cured successfully.