Structural Imaging Techniques

There are a number of accepted, safe imaging techniques in use today in research facilities and hospitals throughout the world. Structural MRI represents a useful tool in understanding the biological underpinnings of schizophrenia and in planning focused interventions, thus assisting clinicians especially in the early phases of the illness. Functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, is a technique for measuring brain activity. It works by detecting the changes in blood oxygenation and flow that occur in response to neural activity - when a brain area is more active it consumes more oxygen and to meet this increased demand blood flow increases to the active area. fMRI can be used to produce activation maps showing which parts of the brain are involved in a particular mental process. Computed tomography (CT) scanning builds up a picture of the brain based on the differential absorption of X-rays. During a CT scan the subject lies on a table that slides in and out of a hollow, cylindrical apparatus. An x-ray source rides on a ring around the inside of the tube, with its beam aimed at the subjects head. After passing through the head, the beam is sampled by one of the many detectors that line the machine's circumference. Images made using x-rays depend on the absorption of the beam by the tissue it passes through. Bone and hard tissue absorb x-rays well, air and water absorb very little and soft tissue is somewhere in between. Thus, CT scans reveal the gross features of the brain but do not resolve its structure well. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) uses trace amounts of short-lived radioactive material to map functional processes in the brain. When the material undergoes radioactive decay a positron is emitted, which can be picked up be the detector. Areas of high radioactivity are associated with brain activity. Each technique is used in different circumstances, such as radiography is often used when we want images of bone structures to look for breakages. MRI scanners are often used to take images of the brain or other internal tissues, particularly when high-resolution images are needed. Nuclear medicine is used when you need to look inside the digestive or circulatory systems, such as to look for blockages. And ultrasound is used to look at fetuses in the womb and to take images of internal organs when high resolution is not necessary. This Book, a compilation of research studies and papers contributed by eminent specialists in their respective fields, presents the coverage of various structural imaging techniques. There are a number of accepted, safe imaging techniques in use today in research facilities and hospitals throughout the world. Structural MRI represents a useful tool in understanding the biological underpinnings of schizophrenia and in planning focused interventions, thus assisting clinicians especially in the early phases of the illness. Functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, is a technique for measuring brain activity. It works by detecting the changes in blood oxygenation and flow that occur in response to neural activity - when a brain area is more active it consumes more oxygen and to meet this increased demand blood flow increases to the active area. fMRI can be used to produce activation maps showing which parts of the brain are involved in a particular mental process. Computed tomography (CT) scanning builds up a picture of the brain based on the differential absorption of X-rays. During a CT scan the subject lies on a table that slides in and out of a hollow, cylindrical apparatus. An x-ray source rides on a ring around the inside of the tube, with its beam aimed at the subjects head. After passing through the head, the beam is sampled by one of the many detectors that line the machine's circumference. Images made using x-rays depend on the absorption of the beam by the tissue it passes through. Bone and hard tissue absorb x-rays well, air and water absorb very little and soft tissue is somewhere in between. Thus, CT scans reveal the gross features of the brain but do not resolve its structure well. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) uses trace amounts of short-lived radioactive material to map functional processes in the brain. When the material undergoes radioactive decay a positron is emitted, which can be picked up be the detector. Areas of high radioactivity are associated with brain activity. Each technique is used in different circumstances, such as radiography is often used when we want images of bone structures to look for breakages. MRI scanners are often used to take images of the brain or other internal tissues, particularly when high-resolution images are needed. Nuclear medicine is used when you need to look inside the digestive or circulatory systems, such as to look for blockages. And ultrasound is used to look at fetuses in the womb and to take images of internal organs when high resolution is not necessary. This Book, a compilation of research studies and papers contributed by eminent specialists in their respective fields, presents the coverage of various structural imaging techniques. There are a number of accepted, safe imaging techniques in use today in research facilities and hospitals throughout the world. Structural MRI represents a useful tool in understanding the biological underpinnings of schizophrenia and in planning focused interventions, thus assisting clinicians especially in the early phases of the illness. Functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, is a technique for measuring brain activity. It works by detecting the changes in blood oxygenation and flow that occur in response to neural activity - when a brain area is more active it consumes more oxygen and to meet this increased demand blood flow increases to the active area. fMRI can be used to produce activation maps showing which parts of the brain are involved in a particular mental process. Computed tomography (CT) scanning builds up a picture of the brain based on the differential absorption of X-rays. During a CT scan the subject lies on a table that slides in and out of a hollow, cylindrical apparatus. An x-ray source rides on a ring around the inside of the tube, with its beam aimed at the subjects head. After passing through the head, the beam is sampled by one of the many detectors that line the machine's circumference. Images made using x-rays depend on the absorption of the beam by the tissue it passes through. Bone and hard tissue absorb x-rays well, air and water absorb very little and soft tissue is somewhere in between. Thus, CT scans reveal the gross features of the brain but do not resolve its structure well. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) uses trace amounts of short-lived radioactive material to map functional processes in the brain. When the material undergoes radioactive decay a positron is emitted, which can be picked up be the detector. Areas of high radioactivity are associated with brain activity. Each technique is used in different circumstances, such as radiography is often used when we want images of bone structures to look for breakages. MRI scanners are often used to take images of the brain or other internal tissues, particularly when high-resolution images are needed. Nuclear medicine is used when you need to look inside the digestive or circulatory systems, such as to look for blockages. And ultrasound is used to look at fetuses in the womb and to take images of internal organs when high resolution is not necessary. This Book, a compilation of research studies and papers contributed by eminent specialists in their respective fields, presents the coverage of various structural imaging techniques. There are a number of accepted, safe imaging techniques in use today in research facilities and hospitals throughout the world. Structural MRI represents a useful tool in understanding the biological underpinnings of schizophrenia and in planning focused interventions, thus assisting clinicians especially in the early phases of the illness. Functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, is a technique for measuring brain activity. It works by detecting the changes in blood oxygenation and flow that occur in response to neural activity - when a brain area is more active it consumes more oxygen and to meet this increased demand blood flow increases to the active area. fMRI can be used to produce activation maps showing which parts of the brain are involved in a particular mental process. Computed tomography (CT) scanning builds up a picture of the brain based on the differential absorption of X-rays. During a CT scan the subject lies on a table that slides in and out of a hollow, cylindrical apparatus. An x-ray source rides on a ring around the inside of the tube, with its beam aimed at the subjects head. After passing through the head, the beam is sampled by one of the many detectors that line the machine's circumference. Images made using x-rays depend on the absorption of the beam by the tissue it passes through. Bone and hard tissue absorb x-rays well, air and water absorb very little and soft tissue is somewhere in between. Thus, CT scans reveal the gross features of the brain but do not resolve its structure well. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) uses trace amounts of short-lived radioactive material to map functional processes in the brain. When the material undergoes radioactive decay a positron is emitted, which can be picked up be the detector. Areas of high radioactivity are associated with brain activity. Each technique is used in different circumstances, such as radiography is often used when we want images of bone structures to look for breakages. MRI scanners are often used to take images of the brain or other internal tissues, particularly when high-resolution images are needed. Nuclear medicine is used when you need to look inside the digestive or circulatory systems, such as to look for blockages. And ultrasound is used to lo