PROVIDING EXCELLENCE IN BOWEL CARE

Everyone deserves the best treatment and support for bowel conditions

Computer Tomography (CT) scans

A CT scan is a special X-ray machine which produces an image of a cross-section, or slice, of the body. The scanner consists of a ‘doughnut’ shaped structure, or gantry, about two feet thick, through which you pass on a couch. A narrow fan-shaped beam of X-rays is produced from inside the gantry, and rotates in a complete circle around you. The X-rays pass through your body and are detected by electronic sensors on the other side of the gantry. The information passes to a computer which then produces a picture of the internal structure of the body. The pictures are displayed on a TV screen and can be examined by the radiologist.

New multislice helical CT scanners can examine an area in 10 seconds and produce in excess of 600 slices which are reviewed on a workstation producing 2D and 3D images.

You will be asked not to eat or drink for about two hours before the appointment. Most scans require no preparation although scans of the abdomen and pelvis you will be asked to drink up to a litre of fluid to fill the bowel prior to the CT. You will also be sent a small amount of fluid to drink on the evening prior to the examination. A small canula will be inserted into a small vein in your arm to allow the administration of intravenous contrast. If you have any allergies please tell the radiographer.

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