CT (CAT) Scan
(Computer Assisted Tomography or Computerized Axial Tomography)

 
"The speed of Iowa Radiology's CT scanner can really make a
difference with people like my son. He's always moving – even in
his sleep. Their state-of-the-art scanner and experienced technologists
were the first ever to capture pictures of him clear enough to read."
 

The word "tomography" has as its root, "tomo", which means
"to cut." In the case of computerized tomography, or CT as it is often
abbreviated, a sophisticated computerized method is used to obtain
data from the passage of x-ray beams through an area of anatomy and
transform them into "cuts," or cross-sectional slices for the radiologist
to view.
  

Iowa Radiology uses multislice technology,
one of the fastest in the world, for cardiac
scoring, lung cancer screening, bone
density screening, oncology, angiography
and pediatrics.

Your CT exam may require a "contrast,"
a fluid that's given during the test to enable

the radiologist to identify abnormalities. There are two commonly
used types of contrasts:
(1) A contrast you drink is often used when examining the digestive
tract. For example, the contrast would show up in the bowel,
distinguishing the bowel from an abnormality.
(2) Another type of contrast is one which is injected into a vein in the
arm. The dye injection gives information about blood supply.

Your test may not require any contrast, but could involve one or
both types.