CCHC Imaging Center

Services Overview

CCHC Imaging Center is proud to offer the following services to patients in Craven and surrounding counties: bone densitometry, CT scanning, Echocardiography and Nuclear Cardiography, 2D and 3D mammography, open MRI, ultrasound, radiographic exams, and vascular studies. We are located in the CCHC Medical Facility on Medical Park Avenue. Our state-of-the-art services and equipment offer some of the latest technology available. Check out the links below for additional information and ask your doctor if you have questions.

Bone Densitometry: There is now new hope for millions of women with osteoporosis. However, to assure that patients at risk for fracture receive proper treatment, they must first be identified.

Just as no physician would prescribe a medication for hypertension without first taking the patient’s blood pressure, the treatment of osteoporosis should begin with an objective, quantifiable measurement of the patient’s bone density.

DEXA (Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptionmetry): DEXA is the most accurate and advanced test available for measuring bone mass with excellent resolution and reproducible precision. A DEXA test is more accurate than radiograms and can diagnose bone loss at an earlier stage. Safe and painless, the 10 minute DEXA scan is the most reliable test to determine even the earliest stages of bone loss associated with osteoporosis.

Bone Density testing is performed at CCHC Imaging Center by a Certified Densitometry Technologist, certifed by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry. Bone Density studies are interpreted by a medical doctor who is also certified in densitometry by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry.

Computed Tomography (CT): A CAT (computed axial tomography) scan or CT scan is a painless test that uses multiple images, taken from different angles, to create three-dimensional images of body structures. Increasingly, CT scans use digital x-rays to produce their images on a computer screen. The CT scanner rotates around the patient, who lays supine in the tube, and obtains images in 360 degrees.

Echocardiography: Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE) is the most common type of echocardiography exam. It allows the doctors to view the heart from outside the chest without any discomfort to the patient. It does not require the patient to be sedated. This exam is performed by placing a microphone-shaped device called a transducer on the patient’s chest that sends ultrasound waves over the different areas of the heart, which are reflected back through the transducer and converted into images.

Mammography: We offer 3D mammography and 3T breast MRI in an effort to meet the growing need for high-tech and comprehensive breast health services. CCHC Imaging Center is the first center in Eastern North Carolina to offer digital breast tomosynthesis for breast cancer screening.

3D mammography improves breast cancer detection, especially in young women and women of any age with radiographically dense breast tissue. Dense breast tissue can obscure an underlying cancer, or conversely mimic a cancer when none exists. Approximately 15 to 20 percent of breast cancers cannot be detected using traditional 2D mammography.

MRI – The most advanced MRI in the New Bern area is at CCHC Imaging Center. The Siemens MAGNETOM Espree is the first “Open Bore” Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner and is truly a step ahead of the competition. It offers the unique combination of a spacious 70 cm bore and a short 125 cm magnet that allows nearly 60% of all scans to be performed with the patients head outside of the open bore. Even those patients who are claustrophobic or overweight will be more comfortable and relaxed because of the increased head and legroom allowed by Siemens’ new design. The magnet’s powerful 1.5 Tesla (or field strength) means significantly clearer and more precise images can be obtained with shorter exam times.

Nuclear Cardiography: Nuclear cardiology evaluates cardiac blood flow and function through the use of small amounts of radioactive materials. Nuclear cardiology can help identify patients who might benefit from angioplasty or bypass surgery after a heart attack. Images of the heart provided by special cameras detect the presence and function severity of heart disease, especially coronary artery disease. Many nuclear imaging procedures are performed in conjunction with exercise or pharmacological stress testing.

Nuclear Medicine is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear medicine scans are usually conducted by radiographers. Nuclear medicine, in a sense, is “radiology done inside out” or “endoradiology” because it records radiation emitting from within the body rather than radiation that is generated by external sources like x-rays. Nuclear medicine imaging, radiopharmaceuticals are taken internally, for example, intravenously or orally. Then, external detectors (gamma cameras) capture and form images from the radiation emitted by the radiopharmaceuticals.

Digital Radiography is a form of X-ray imaging, where digital X-ray sensors are used instead of traditional photographic film. Advantages include time efficiency through bypassing chemical processing and the ability to digitally transfer and enhance images. Also less radiation can be used to produce an image of similar contrast to conventional radiography.

Instead of X-ray film, digital radiography uses a digital image capture device. This gives advantages of immediate image preview and availability; elimination of costly film processing steps; a wider dynamic range, which makes it more forgiving for over- and under-exposure; as well as the ability to apply special image processing techniques that enhance overall display of the image.

Ultrasound: Ultrasound is a medical procedure that uses sound waves to image different areas of the body. The most common exams are of the abdomen, pelvis, blood vessels and of a fetus during pregnancy. Ultrasound is very safe and non-invasive, which makes it a very useful diagnostic tool.

Vascular Studies: Vascular tests determine the adequacy of blood flow in arteries and veins throughout the body.

Arterial Doppler Study: The arterial Doppler examination is performed by measuring blood pressures and Doppler waveforms at multiple levels of the arms and legs. The severity and location of blocked arteries can be approximated. Occasionally treadmill exercise is added to help differentiate the pain.

Venous Doppler Study: Venous Doppler studies detect blood clots in the leg or arm veins. They are frequently ordered for painful or swollen extremities.

Carotid Doppler Study: The Carotid Doppler examination is a non-invasive, painless scanning of the neck arteries using high frequency sound waves to detect plaque buildup. Your physician may order this test if a stethoscope examination of the neck arteries reveal sounds called “bruits.” The amount and location of blocked arteries help guide therapy and is an important part of stroke prevention.

Lung Cancer Screening

Are you a long-term smoker? If your answer is YES, a lung screening could save your life. What is Lung Cancer Screening? Screening means that a test is done to look for a disease, in persons at risk for developing the disease, before the disease causes symptoms. In this case, the test is a low-dose computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest. The goal of screening is to reduce the number of people who die from lung cancer by detecting the disease earlier.

Eligibility for Years Lung Cancer Screening

• Be aged 55 to 77 years old
• Have no current signs of lung cancer such as unexplained cough or weight loss greater than 15 pounds in one year or coughing up blood
• Tobacco smoking history of at least 30 pack years (this is the number of years smoked multiplied by the number of packs (20 cigarettes = 1 pack) smoked per day. For example 1 pack per day for 30 years equals 30 pack years or 2 packs per day for 15 years equals 30 pack years)
• Be a current smoker or one that has quit within the past 15 years
• Have a lung cancer screening discussion with a provider to determine eligibility

Benefits of Lung Cancer Screening

Having a low-dose chest CT scans reduces the chance of dying from lung cancer in people who are at risk of developing lung cancer with minimal harm to those who are screened. Benefits were based on the results of the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial which found that lung cancer deaths were decreased by 20 percent in people who had annual low-dose CT scans over two years (1).

Drawbacks of Lung Cancer Screening

Screening for lung cancer with a chest CT scan can find small spots, called nodules, in the lungs. There is no way to tell if these lung nodules are lung cancer without further tests such as repeat CT scans or biopsies. Therefore, many people who are screened may have further tests without having lung cancer.

Lung cancer screening CTs use a very small dose of radiation. The dose is five times less than a standard CT. The effects of radiation from lung cancer screening is not known. The benefits are though to outweigh any consequences.

Quitting Smoking

If you smoke, you can cut your risk of dying from lung cancer by quitting. We advise all smokers to quit. CCHC has free smoking cessation classes that can help you quit. Please refer to our website www.cchchealthcare.com under the News and Events tab for further information on our smoking cessation classes.

For More Information

Please ask your provider about our Lung Cancer screening program or call 252-633-4111 for more information.

Footnote: (1) Reduced Lung-Cancer Mortality with Low-Dose Computed Tomographic Screening. The National Lung Cancer Screening Trial Research Team. N Engl J Med 2011;365:395-409.