Our Services / Imaging

What is imaging?

Diagnostic imaging helps the Southern New Hampshire Internal Medicine team determine the cause of your symptoms when you're sick or in pain. Imaging is also invaluable for assessing the severity of an injury or disease, monitoring deterioration in chronic conditions like osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, and reviewing your progress after surgery.

Imaging machines use various forms of technology to produce pictures showing the inside of your body in detail. That includes your neuromusculoskeletal system (bones, muscles, connective tissues, cartilage, and central nervous system), your cardiovascular system (including blood flow), and all your internal organs.

What types of imaging are available?

Southern New Hampshire Internal Medicine has access to several cutting-edge imaging technologies, including:

Digital X-rays

X-rays were the first kind of technology used in medical imaging. They produce pictures of dense tissues like your bones and joints and any metal objects using minimal doses of ionizing radiation. Mammograms use X-rays to examine breast tissue and screen for cancer.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound imaging or sonography uses sound waves. The sound bounces off your tissues and returns to the machine, which translates the information to create moving images. Specialized forms of ultrasound are also available, such as Doppler, which measures blood flow.

CT scans

CT (computed tomography) combines information from multiple X-ray beams to create highly detailed images. CT scans have numerous uses as they can analyze all types of tissues, from dense bones to fat and muscle. Southern New Hampshire Internal Medicine uses low-dose CT scans to perform lung cancer screening.

PET scans

PET (positron emission tomography) scans use a special dye with radioactive tracers in it that you swallow, inhale, or have injected into an arm vein. Your organs and tissues absorb the tracer, which shows up on the PET scan and highlights areas with any abnormal chemical activity that could indicate disease.

MRI

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) uses immensely powerful magnets to create highly detailed cross-sectional images of your body.

What happens after I undergo an imaging procedure?

Some forms of imaging, like simple X-rays, take just a few minutes, while others take an hour or more. Most patients don't require sedation for imaging, so you should feel fine and be able to return home shortly after your scan.

As soon as your provider receives a report from the radiologist, they contact you to discuss their findings and advise on the next steps in your treatment.

Southern New Hampshire Internal Medicine has sophisticated imaging facilities on-site and collaborates with the Derry Imaging Center. To find out more, call today or book an appointment online.