Radiology Imaging

361-788-6150 or 361-788-2511

Radiology and imaging services at both DeTar Hospital Navarro and DeTar Hospital North provide physicians with miraculous visual images and information about illness and injuries. DeTar's Medical Imaging Center is staffed with Radiologists certified by the American Board of Radiology. As in other areas of healthcare, the DeTar's Imaging Center continuously incorporates new developments in radiology and imaging to constantly expand the range of services offered to Victoria and surrounding communities and provides imaging services on an inpatient and outpatient basis.

Among many of the "firsts" offered to the Victoria area are our 16-Slice CT Scanner, and our Whole Body Bone Densitometry Unit to assess a patient's bone structure. Other services offered by DeTar's Imaging Center include:

• Bone densitometry measures the density of the spine, hip and other bones—the most frequent sites of fracture—and compares it to an established norm to produce a score. This number helps your physician determine your risk of developing osteoporosis. A bone density test is a relatively simple, quick and painless way to determine your bone health.
   
• Computerized tomography (CT) creates detailed images of your body’s internal organs using X-rays with computer technology. The doughnut-shaped scanner uses radiation to create cross-sectional images, or “slices,” that help physicians detect tumors, heart disease or internal injuries or bleeding. A CT scan may require that you not eat or drink if you have to drink a contrast liquid—which helps healthcare providers see body structures more clearly—or have a contrast dye injected before the test. The exam usually lasts less than an hour, including any preparations, though the actual scan may only last a minute or two.
   
• Nuclear medicine uses tiny amounts of radioactive materials to perform heart studies and diagnose bone cancer, bone infections and stress fractures. The radioactive materials are introduced into the patient’s body by injection, swallowing or inhalation. Special cameras that work with computers detect the radioactive materials to provide sharp images of the body.
   
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create cross-sectional images of your head, body, muscles and blood flow. Because an MRI provides a clear view of internal organs and tissues, it helps physicians diagnose injuries and other health conditions much faster than with other technologies. DeTar uses an open MRI machine. For patients who have pacemakers or implantable cardioverter defibrillators, a computed tomography (CT) scan may be a safer imaging tool. (The devices may malfunction during an MRI scan).
   
• Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to evaluate organs in the body and commonly to examine fetal development. Detailed images are returned in real time, making ultrasound particularly helpful for guiding minimally invasive procedures—such as needle biopsies—and for visualizing organ, blood vessel and tissue movement.
   
• X-rays use invisible electromagnetic energy beams to produce images of internal tissues, bones, and organs on film. X-rays are made by using external radiation to produce images of the body, its organs and other internal structures for diagnostic purposes.