Radiation is a double edged sword. It can both help and hurt a patient at the same time.  As technologists, we should never forget this important fact. We must do everything to keep ourselves and our patients as safe as possible. Scatter or secondary radiation is the main source of occupational radiation exposure. Let’s not forget our ...

The tough job market continues to affect me. I got hired at the VA as a fee-based CT technologist on a part time basis. I was told that I would work 5 days a week every other week until the two full-time open positions were filled. This was supposed to take me at least into the fall of this year. In an unprecedented turn of events, the usually ...

My recent blogs have discussed the importance of providing excellent patient care. This week i got a whole new perspective on going that extra mile. Early Sunday morning I had to go to the ER. I was in bad shape and was promptly admitted. i thought I'd get the usual chest x-ray and/or head CT but I didn't need those. I did end up needing lab work, ...

After going on an interview in mid December of last year, I was just given my start date at the VA of mid March. I guess it’s better late than never.  I was initially supposed to begin orientation today but some unfinished paperwork held things up.  I have seen first hand that getting a government job takes quite a bit longer than a ...

In Canada, CT scans will now be more readily available to four legged patients. Charlottetown’s Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island is testing a new CT machine that will be used to diagnose animals. In the past, only the critical cases were taken to a local human hospital under sedation and scanned. This new machine will be ...

It is with great anticipation that many Americans welcome opening day of the 2012 NFL Season. With all of the fun that comes with tailgates and parties, the health of these athletes must not be overlooked. The American Academy of Neurology just released a study that confirms previously held beliefs “… that head injuries cause neurologic ...

Jon Bachman is a 66 year old man who lives in Virginia and owns a dinosaur egg as part of his fossil collection. He bought it at a rock show for $600 in 1984. The egg is said to be 70 million years old and from the Hunan province of China. He has had it for almost 30 years and has always wondered what’s inside. He figured the only way to find ...

As the NFL preseason gives way to the regular season, we are reminded of the important role that imaging plays in sports. Michael Vick, of the Philadelphia Eagles, injured his ribs and left thumb in his last two games. He received x-rays of his ribs and his thumb while still at the stadiums. Both came up negative. Later in the week Vick ...

I recently learned that a friend of mine went to see a cosmetic surgeon for an oddly shaped clavicle. A chest x-ray was taken as a routine measure and an abnormality was identified in the lung. A follow up CT scan was ordered. The scan found a mass in my friend's lung that was eventually determined to be benign. However, she had to have surgery to ...

The world news often displays images of people living in countries with less than desirable conditions. This can include sub-par medical care. A diagnostic Radiologist and his wife visit Kenya as often as possible to help change this. Dr. Read Vaughan ''...taught ultrasound and computerized tomography scan techniques to between 30 and 35 medical ...