Services - Diagnostic
Diagnosis is the gateway to pinpointing disease and deciding the
correct method of treatment. Imaging technologies are the most accurate
and pervasive means of diagnosis available in our two areas of primary
focus i.e. cancer and neuroscience. Imaging diagnostics are almost
ubiquitous in medicine. The testing is done for problems as routinely
mundane as broken bones to some of the most serious and severe forms
of cancer such as glioblastoma mutiforme. We focus on this area
of medicine because it compliments our current treatment facilities,
it is widely used and acceptable as a technology and is a proven
revenue generator with new applications always evolving. The diagnostic
tools listed below are as multifaceted as they are acceptable to
the medical community.
Computerized Tomography (CT)
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Magnetic-Encephalography (MEG)
CT scans represent a major advance over the simple x-ray, which
did not allow the doctor to visualize tissue at all. Instead of
a flat, two-dimensional picture, CT scanners produce a series of
successive images. These slices can be combined to create the illusion
of depth and help to visualize if and where a problem exists. This
is a mature marketplace yet still has significant potential.
This technology takes advantage of the body's natural magnetic
field, measuring change in the field's energy as patients are exposed
to various radio frequencies. Unlike CT views, MRI's can be rendered
in full 3-D because MRI machines can slice along three or more planes
not just one. A computer can then compile the information to generate
a sort of relief map of the site in question. This is another relatively
mature market but there has been significant technological advancement
with 3.0T MRI and High Field Open MRI, enhancing image quality and
increasing patient throughput, thereby keeping this a very viable
and continually growing marketplace.
PET scans are an imaging technique that uses positively charged
particles (radioactive activities). A PET scan provides a color-coded
image of the body's function, metabolism and structure. This is
probably the best and most expensive technique available today.
It is a relatively new market with an extremely vast array of applications
and advantages. This market technology is advancing rapidly with
the advent of PET/CT, a combination of PET scans and CT scans which
enhance the image quality and patient throughput. This market segment
is growing at a swift rate
This is an exciting, new technique that allows scientists to study
the brain in real time. MEG directly measures nerve cell firing
by detecting changes in tiny magnetic signals produced by active
brain neurons. It is ideal for tracing the order and pattern in
which brain regions are activated when performing certain tasks.
Researchers now have the unprecedented ability to see what is going
wrong with the brain and, perhaps, find cures for such diseases
as epilepsy and many others.
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