X-RAYS

Radiography

Radiography (XR) still remains relevant when viewing the skeleton, abdomen, lungs etc. The images are taken using X-rays which cross the body and are shown on a screen. Depending on the type of tissue, X-rays are lightened to a greater or lesser extent which gives film transparency to a greater or lesser extent.

“The doses dispensed in conventional radiology are very low. For example, for a chest x-ray, the dose of radiation is 0.03m SV, i.e. the equivalent of the radiation for a Geneva-Paris flight. The natural annual dose in Switzerland is 2.4m SV.”

Progress of the procedure

Preparation

No preparation is required. The staff of the radiology centre performing the examination ask patients to remove clothes and jewellery.

The examination

The technician then indicates the positions to be taken.  These can prove to be uncomfortable, but they are never painful. Several images are often necessary to see the organ under examination from various angles (front, profile, etc). It is imperative not to move and block respiration when this is necessary in order to ensure clear images.

Contraindications

Ladies, if you think you are pregnant or if your period is late, tell the technician who greets you. As radiography is contraindicated in pregnant women, and in particular in the first trimester of pregnancy, it can be performed in certain exceptional circumstances.

Digitized radiology

  • Standard digitized radiology
  • Arthrography
  • Radioscopy-guided infiltration
  • Digestive, urological and gynaecological examinations