Uses high-frequency sound waves to create an image of an organ or area inside the body.

• Best used for abdomen, breast, cranium, heart, hip musculoskeletal, obstetrics, pelvis, prostate, scrotum, thyroid, uterus, vasculature, venous extremities
• Most ultrasound scanning is noninvasive (no needles or injections)
• Widely available, easy to use and less expensive than other methods
• Gives a clear picture of soft tissues that do not show up well on X-ray images
• Extremely safe and does not use any ionizing radiation
• Superficial structures can be seen in as much resolution as with MRI
• Diagnosis can be in real time
• Patients can be scanned while performing motion that causes them pain

Combines special X-ray equipment with computers to produce cross-sectional images of a body area or a 3-dimensional reconstruction.

• Best used for abdomen, blood vessels, extremities, full body, chest, colon, head, pelvis, sinuses, spine
• Painless, noninvasive and accurate
• Ability to image bone, soft tissue and blood vessels all at the same time
• Very detailed images
• Usually completed within 5 minutes, with an actual scan time of less than 30 seconds
• Can be performed if you have an implanted medical device of any kind

Nuclear medical scans utilize small amounts of radioactive isotopes to produce an image that can help detect areas of disease.

• Best used for bone, brain, breast, heart, hepatobiliary, lung, renal, thyroid, full body
• Offer unique information — including details on both function and structure — that's usually unattainable using other imaging procedures
• For many diseases, nuclear med scans yield the most useful information needed to make a diagnosis or to determine appropriate treatment
• PET imaging may detect the early onset of disease before it is evident on other imaging tests

Uses low-energy X-rays to produce an image of the human breast to help detect masses and/or micro-calcifications.

• Mammography is performed on an outpatient basis
• This quick medical exam uses a noninvasive X-ray targeted to each breast, producing black-and-white images that are read by a radiologist
• No radiation remains in a patient's body after
• Best used to check for breast cancer in women
• Screening tool to detect early breast cancer in women experiencing no symptoms, as well as those who have symptoms
• Can detect tumors that cannot be felt

Uses a powerful magnetic field, along with radio-frequency pulses and a computer, to produce images of organs, soft tissue, bones and other internal body structures.

• Best used for abdomen, brain, breast, blood vessels, chest, heart, hepatobiliary system, joints, lungs, musculoskeletal, neck, pancreatic system, pelvis, prostate, renal system, spine
• Noninvasive: no exposure to ionizing radiation
• Enables the discovery of abnormalities that might be obscured by bone
• Contrast material is less likely to produce an allergic reaction than the iodine-based contrast materials
• Noninvasive alternative to X-ray, angiography and CT for diagnosing problems of the heart and blood vessels