Imaging tests help us see inside your brain, head, and neck to screen or diagnose health issues. They also help us figure out what’s causing symptoms.

We can use imaging to diagnose:

• Stroke
• Traumatic brain injury
• Brain and spinal cord tumors
• Swelling and infection
• Regions of abnormal brain development

Who needs brain, head, and neck imaging?

You may need brain, head, and neck imaging for sudden problems, ongoing pain or memory issues. Imaging also helps us prepare for brain, head, and neck surgery and radiation therapy.

In children, imaging helps diagnose and treat congenital disabilities and developmental disorders. As you get older, imaging helps us see how your brain is aging.

Reasons you may need imaging include:

• Emergency care for brain injury, head trauma, stroke or aneurysm
• Neurological issues, such as ALS, multiple sclerosis, seizures, headaches, and Parkinson’s disease
• Cancer, including brain and spinal cord tumors and head and neck cancers
• Ear, nose, and throat problems such as pain, hearing loss, and voice box issues, as well as for cochlear implants and plastic surgery
• Eye surgery for injuries or vision problems
• Diabetes, thyroid problems and other hormone-related diseases
• Infections and swelling of the brain and spinal cord, such as encephalitis, meningitis and myelitis
• Orthopaedic issues, including back and neck pain and sports injuries, such as concussion

Screening helps us to see problems in your brain, head, and neck before symptoms start. We typically recommend screenings if you're at high risk of the condition.

• Carotid stenosis screening: Using an ultrasound, we check how blood flows through a major artery in your neck called the carotid. You may need this screening if you have risk factors for stroke or have sickle cell disease.
• Alzheimer’s screening: An amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) scan uses a special compound to find beta-amyloid plaques, a signature of Alzheimer’s.
• Blood vessel screening: Angiography visualizes your brain’s blood vessels. It uses an injected contrast dye to look for problems.

Imaging and radiology can diagnose problems in your brain, head, neck, and skull base.

Brain computed tomography (CT) scans can find bleeding in the brain. Head CTs can also look for the cause of severe headaches or sinus problems. CTs of the neck can look for spinal cord problems, such as injury or infection. We often use brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to help diagnose and monitor multiple sclerosis.

Expert imaging tests we provide include:

• Cerebral angiography: An X-ray with contrast to highlight blood vessels in the brain. It helps visualize bulging (aneurysm) and plaque build-up in the brain’s blood vessels. While we’re in there, we can also treat some conditions.
• Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) brain scan: This is a special CT head scan. It uses a radiotracer to take detailed images of blood flow and chemical reactions.
• Sialography (sialogram): These X-ray pictures of the salivary ducts and glands can test for disorders or cancer.
• Thyroid ultrasound and scintigraphy: Radionuclide scanning (or scintigraphy) uses a small amount of radioactivity to diagnose thyroid disorders, including cancer.
• Modified barium swallow study (esophagram): To see how well you swallow, we use an X-ray camera (fluoroscope). We image your neck as you eat and drink foods containing contrast chemicals.
• Dual-energy CT (DECT) scan: We can get even better images of blood vessels by using 2 types of X-ray scans and CT angiography.

Once we’ve diagnosed your health issue, we can also use imaging to treat it. Our interventional radiology procedures in the head and neck include:

• Stereotactic radiosurgery (Gamma Knife): This is a non-surgical radiation therapy to treat some brain tumors and other health issues. It delivers targeted radiation in highly focused gamma rays. You need fewer treatments because the radiation dose is higher.
• Image-guided biopsy: Biopsies take tissue samples or spinal fluid. These help diagnose cancer and infectious diseases. Imaging helps us take these samples safely and accurately.
• Image-assisted shunt placement: Cerebral shunts help drain excess cerebrospinal fluid from the brain. They can treat some types of hydrocephalus or brain infections. We use imaging to help place them accurately.
• Intraoperative imaging: During surgery on your brain, head, neck, and spine, we can use imaging to help guide us.
• Carotid artery stenting: A stent is a tube that improves blood flow in a blocked or narrowed artery. The carotid artery is a blood vessel in your neck essential for blood flow to the brain.
• Tumor embolization: This procedure uses angiography to accurately cut blood supply to tumors in the brain, head, and neck. This helps reduce blood loss when we remove the tumor surgically.
• High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU): Ultrasound waves directed at the thalamus can reduce tremors (involuntary shaking). We use real-time imaging to improve the accuracy of the treatment.