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Diagnostic Imaging Offers Many Views of Life
 McLaren-Lapeer Region's Diagnostic Imaging Center helps physicians to see what is ailing you and gives them precise information with which to make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.
RADIOGRAPHY
Commonly known as x-ray, radiography is the oldest, most frequently used form of medical imaging. X-ray imaging is very fast and provides a rapid method of evaluating the entire body, especially the joints, bones and chest.
CT SCANNING
McLaren-Lapeer Region has the newest CT scanner, which produces detailed images of nearly any organ, blood vessels, bone and the spinal cord by transmitting x-ray pulses through the body. CT scans are noninvasive and generally last no longer than 20 minutes.
MRI IMAGING
Patients and physicians in the area now have access to the latest-generation magnetic resonance imaging scanner (MRI). McLaren-Lapeer Region offers a fixed MRI system on site. MRI provides images using a very powerful magnetic field and radio waves, thus avoiding X-ray exposure. MRI imaging is a very powerful tool in diagnosing head, heart, abdominal, spinal and other conditions.
ULTRASOUND
Ultrasound (US) imaging, also called ultrasound scanning or sonography, is a method of "seeing" inside the human body through the use of high-frequency sound waves. The sound waves are recorded and displayed as a real-time visual image. During pregnancy, ultrasound is used to assess the condition of the mother and baby and may be used to check for abdominal and vascular conditions. Ultrasound is also a valuable tool for diagnosing breast and prostate cancer. McLaren-Lapeer Region has four ultrasound examination rooms and technicians dedicated to the ultrasound studies.
MAMMOGRAPHY
Offered at McLaren Community Medical Center-Lapeer.
MAMMOTOME (minimally invasive breast biopsy)
The Mammotome is an outpatient breast biopsy procedure that is performed in less than an hour and allows women to return to their normal routine immediately afterwards. They leave with only a small bandage that covers an incision about the size of a match head.
Procedures with the Mammotome involve the one-time insertion of a probe directly into the area of the breast that appeared suspicious, based on a physical exam or a mammogram finding. The doctor guides the probe through the use of ultrasound or stereotactic imaging systems. Once inside, the Mammotome gently vacuums, cuts and removes tissue for examination.
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
McLaren-Lapeer Region offers nuclear medicine imaging. A nuclear medicine scan is sometimes described as an “inside-out” x-ray because it records radiation coming from the patient’s body rather than radiation that is going into the patient’s body, like an x-ray.
Nuclear medicine procedures use small amounts of radioactive materials, called radiopharmaceuticals, to create images. Radiopharmaceuticals are introduced into the patient’s body by injection, swallowing, or breathing them in. A special type of camera detects the radioactivity in the organ, bone, or tissue being imaged then records the information on a computer screen or on film.
Nuclear medicine is unique because it documents function as well as structure. For example, nuclear medicine allows physicians to see how a kidney is working, not just what it looks like. Nuclear medicine procedures include thyroid studies, bone scans, lung scans, cardiac stress tests, and liver and gallbladder procedures.
PET/CT
Another service offered by McLaren-Lapeer Region is PET scanning. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is non-invasive; cells absorb nuclear medicine technique that involves tracing slightly radioactive glucose (sugar that cells use as food). Cancer cells absorb glucose at a much higher rate than other cells, and put out a higher signal (show up brighter) on PET scans than normal cells. PET scans are a good way of determining whether cancer cells have spread beyond the primary tumor site, because they can show up clearly as points of light elsewhere in the body.
SPECIAL PROCEDURES
McLaren-Lapeer Region offers comprehensive services in Heart and Vascular. Angiography is a type of x-ray that is done to image blood vessels in various parts of the body, including the heart, brain, extremities and kidneys, so as to determine whether the vessels are diseased, narrowed, enlarged, or blocked altogether. After passing a catheter through an artery leading to the body area of interest, a contrast material is injected to highlight the vessels when x-rays are taken. If a narrowing is found in the carotid arteries, extremities or kidneys, our skilled cardiologists may perform a procedure such as a balloon angioplasty, stenting, or an atherectomy in the vessel.
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