What is radiation?
Radiation is a form of energy, particle waves moving through space. Typically, most of the radiation we constantly receive from the environment is through sun exposure, radon gas, and cosmic rays from space. This is called “background” radiation, and the higher your altitude, the more powerful the background radiation to which you are exposed. But studies show that nowadays, we get half our lifetime radiation levels from medical imaging devices.
X-rays and CT scans use “ionizing” radiation. This radiation type is considered unstable because it has excess energy it must get rid of. This unstableness is what makes a substance radioactive. These X-rays penetrate the body, straight through human tissue to see broken bones, swallowed objects and cavities. There is a modified X-ray technique that allows the imaging of softer tissues like blood vessels, intestines and lungs.
How CT Scans Work
Computerized axial tomography (CAT) is another name for CT scans as they accomplish the same thing in the same manner. As we noted, X-rays are everywhere, but these rays are powerful examples of electromagnetic energy focused to do a job.
X-ray beams move around the person, who is typically lying on a table. The machine shoots horizontal X-ray pictures of the subject from many different angles. Each full rotation around the body results in a scan of a slice of the body. A computer then takes the information of multiple scans and puts together a 3D image of that body section.