Computed Tomography (CT scan) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Computed Tomography (CT scan) - Research Paper Example The last two decades have seen popularity in terms of the increase of usage and new technological implications that can enhance this machine to produce even more detailed imaging solutions in the future. That being said, the potential side effects of this imaging that have been known to cause cancer or kidney problems in most cases, make a strong case against the development and use of such a technology. This paper will elaborate on the technology and its usage with a study on the potential side effects of this kind of imaging. It will also shed light on is wide spread application in today’s medical world and means through which the harmful implications from the use of radiation technology of CT scanning can be minimized. The word tomography is derived from the Greek language where ‘tomo’ means ‘slice’ and ‘graphien’ means ‘write’ (Medical News Today, 2013). The technology basically involves the creation of 3-D imaging with the help of many 2-D images taken of the body, referring to the ‘slicing’ of images. First introduced in the 1970s, the technology has come a long way as far as the mechanism and clinical usage patterns of this technology are concerned. Starting off with the technology itself, computing tomography or Ct scanning conventionally makes use of an x-ray tube and sensory detectors that rotate behind the circular surface of the scanning head. Several functional options enable doctors to focus on a specialized scan that may be used to evaluate a specific body part for example blood vessels, nerves or bones. As the rotation takes place several mages are captured and collected as sonograms. These multiple sonograms are then made into information that can be interpreted. Sonograms combine through tomographic reconstruction to produce a series of cross sectional images. There are various types of mathematical and geometric techniques that can be used for this conversion, like linear algebra, filtered back