At Excela Health, we perform more than 275,000 outpatient x-ray procedures
a year through a combination of state-of-the-art technologies and attention
to patient care and comfort from our highly skilled, professional staff.
We pride ourselves on efficiency, so that patient diagnoses can occur
more quickly while attending to the medical needs and dignity of our patients,
all serving as a foundation for patient-centered imaging services.
Regardless of where you receive imaging services at Excela Health, our
radiologists and other physicians are connected across the three campuses
by the latest PACS system, a means of reviewing and comparing patient
images electronically without having to transport films from site to site.
And, with the same radiology group serving each hospital, you’ll
find the same high quality and standards of care at each site.
If you'd like to learn more about imaging procedures in general, what they
entail, and how you might be able to prepare for your exam, visit
radiologyinfo.org for more information.
Imaging Procedures
Routine Diagnostic Radiology
Routine x-rays can be used to assess broken bones and determine pneumonias through a
chest x-ray, to barium enemas for lower gastrointestinal examinations.
Other diagnostic imaging methods include fluoroscopy, radiography and others.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Let's be open about MRI. Because one size does not fit all, Excela Health
offers a wide bore MRI at its Excela Square, Frick Hospital and Medical
Commons One - Greensburg locations. The wide bore features a wider opening
for more space and comfort, accommodating the claustrophobic patient while
producing precise and clear images. To learn more about MRI at Excela
Health, please
click here.
CT Scanning
Computed tomography or CT scanning utilizes special x-ray equipment that
rotates around the body to produce multiple, two-dimensional images of
body structures. These images or "slices" provide a highly detailed
view of the body's interior. To enhance some CT studies, we sometimes
use a contrast material. The scan is usually quick and painless and afterwards,
you can return to normal activities.
Mammography
We offer tomosynthesis, more commonly called 3D mammography, for screening
mammograms, diagnostic mammograms, breast ultrasound, and stereotactic
breast biopsy. Bone density screening is also available at our hospital campuses.
No insurance? We can help through a mammography voucher program. Just call
toll-free
1-877-771-1234 before you "walk-in" for details. (Must be 12 months from previous
mammogram.)
Walk-In Wednesdays offered at:
Westmoreland Hospital from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
532 West Pittsburgh Street
Greensburg, PA 15601
Nuclear Medicine
To show the actual physical functioning of various organs and body parts,
nuclear medicine has proven to be most valuable. The patient is given
a substance labeled with a radioactive "tracer" so the imaging
device, usually a gamma camera, detects the radiation emission by the
tracer in the body. This emission is displayed as the image. Excela's
dual head gamma cameras allow for quicker scanning and greater patient comfort.
PET/CT Scanning
A nuclear medicine procedure, PET scanning produces images of particular
biological functions and can detect small cancers. The patient is given
a sugar solution "tagged" with a radiotracer used by cancer
and certain other diseases and "lights up" for localized identification
of disease. The PET tracer is harmless and is eliminated from a person's
system usually within 12 hours.
The PET/CT fusion combines the cellular imaging capability of the PET scan
with the structural imaging ability of the CT scan, providing the highest
degree of accuracy available in cancer imaging.
Ultrasound
To visualize soft tissue structures in the body, ultrasound uses high frequency
sound waves, producing two, three and four dimensional, real time images.
Interventional Radiology
Allows radiologists to specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments
using image guidance that in particular instances, replaces the need for
open surgery. Benefits to patients include less pain, shorter recovery
and no large incisions. Common procedures include angiography, kyphoplasty
and vertebroplasty, TIPS (transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt),
venous ablation, vein thrombolysis, central venous access, uterine fibroid
embolization, aneurysm coiling, pain injections, and more.
All magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment, ultrasound, mammography
and the PET/CT scanner are accredited by the American College of Radiology.
Cardiac Diagnostic Technologies At Excela Health
Each of our hospitals provides a full range of cardiac diagnostic equipment
and techniques, including the latest digital, video and imaging tools.
Diagnostic options include:
Standard Electrocardiogram (EKG). These results are available immediately
system-wide by remote access.
Echocardiogram (ECHO), both Transesophageal and Dobutamine versions.
Stress Echocardiogram, combining a treadmill stress test with standard ECHO.
MUGA Scan, which analyzes the heart’s efficiency in pumping blood
via a radioactive substance.
Tilt Table Test.
Event and Holter Monitoring, which record your activity throughout a typical day.
Within our catheterization laboratories on the Westmoreland campus are
dual head cardiac gamma cameras, echocardiography and ultrasound equipment.
Available in the cath lab suite is the 64-slice CT scanner, a noninvasive
means of diagnosing symptoms or potential problems with extremely high
detail and accuracy. A second 64-slice CT scanner is also available at
the Latrobe Hospital campus.
