X-Ray Department
Information for Patients
Ninewells Hospital & Medical School
Dundee DD1 9SY
Tel. 01382 632966 (direct line)
|
X-Ray Department |
| X-Ray Unit Ninewells Hospital & Medical School Dundee DD1 9SY |
Open Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm Tel. 01382 632966 (direct line) |
CT Scan
What is a CT Scan?
The letters CT stand for computerised tomography. The pictures from this examination are much more detailed than conventional X-Ray pictures. They are thin slices or cross sections through the area of your body being examined. Because of this the examination takes longer than a normal X-Ray.
If we are looking at the thyroid, your scan will be of the neck area. If we are looking at your adrenal glands, we will scan your abdomen. Your official appointment leaflet will tell you which scan we will give you.
Click here to see an image of
a CT machine.
If you are having neck scan
There will usually be no preparation. During the examination we may give you an injection of a substance which shows up the blood vessels on the scan.
If you are having an abdomen scan
The day before and the day of your examination, avoid eating gassy food and drink e.g. green vegetables, fresh fruit, beans, fatty foods, salads and fizzy drinks.
You may eat lean meat, grilled fish, creamed potatoes, custards, jellies, milk puddings etc. You should not take a laxative. Please do not eat or drink anything for 4 hours before attending. You are to attend for your CT scan 30 minutes before your appointed time. This is to enable you to drink 2 glasses of a mixture which helps show up areas of your abdomen which are difficult to see.
On Arrival in the Department.
A member of staff will meet you and take you to the CT waiting area. You must tell the staff if you suffer from allergies, hay fever or asthma.
If you are having an abdominal scan, we will give you the drink described above.
If your CT examination is of the chest and neck, you will not need to drink the mixture.
During the scan
You will lie on the X-Ray table which moves through a hole in the scanner so that the area being examined is in the correct position. The scanner is not enclosed. Nothing will touch you. Although the area in which you are placed is narrow, it is open at both ends and you will have plenty of room. There is a microphone in the scanner through which the radiographer will speak to you. Although the staff must stay out of the room while the examination is going on, we keep a careful watch on you through a large communicating screen and a closed circuit TV.
After the examination
If you were having the abdominal scan, you will experience some diarrhoea because of the preparatory drink. You should experience no other discomfort and can return to your normal daily routine.
Links to other pages
General Information
about Radiology
Ó NHS Tayside; 2006; version 1.0
Disclaimer; no liability whatsoever is accepted for information given and all such information, especially with regard to drug usage (UK version provided), must be checked with a person’s health provider.