Reproductive imaging gives your care team a clear look at your reproductive organs. That includes your uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, cervix, and vagina.

These tests help us find and treat problems. We may use imaging to check symptoms, monitor a condition, guide treatment, or support pregnancy and fertility care.

We use several tools to image the female reproductive system:

• Ultrasound: This test uses sound waves to create live images. It helps us check for cysts, fibroids, or other changes in your uterus or ovaries. We also use it during pregnancy or to guide procedures like biopsies.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): MRI uses magnets and radio waves to take very detailed images of soft tissue. It gives us a clearer view of the uterus, ovaries, and pelvic area. It’s helpful when looking for endometriosis, tumors, or congenital issues.
• X-rays: Use a small amount of radiation to take pictures of the inside of your body. When used with contrast dye, X-rays can show your uterus and fallopian tubes. This helps us check for scarring, blockages, or other issues that can affect fertility.
• Computed tomography (CT) scans: This scan uses X-rays to take detailed pictures from many angles. We may use CT to check for tumors, abscesses, or spread of disease in your reproductive organs.

You may need reproductive imaging to check symptoms, support pregnancy, or prepare for treatment. These tests help us understand what’s happening inside your body and guide your care.

Common reasons include:

• Fertility concerns, including trouble getting pregnant or planning treatment
• Pregnancy care, especially if your pregnancy is high-risk or you have complications
• Bleeding or period problems, including heavy, painful, or irregular periods
• Ongoing pelvic pain, with or without other symptoms
• Known or suspected conditions like fibroids, endometriosis, PCOS, or cancer
• Planning for gynecologic surgery or urgent care related to your reproductive organs

Reproductive imaging screens play an important role in pregnancy care. Ultrasound screenings during pregnancy can help us find pregnancy problems early.

Ultrasound is the most common imaging tool used during pregnancy. It uses sound waves to create real-time photos and videos of your baby inside the womb.

The test is painless. In early pregnancy, we use a thin wand in the vagina for a clearer view. It may be slightly uncomfortable. Later, we use a small device called a transducer and gel on the skin of your belly. There’s pressure, but it shouldn’t hurt.

These ultrasound tests help us check your baby’s health and development at different stages.

• Early dating: We do this between 7 and 10 weeks. It confirms that you're pregnant and helps estimate your due date. We check for a heartbeat, count the fetuses, and make sure they are in the uterus.
• First-trimester screening: We do this between 11 and 14 weeks. It screens for early signs of possible congenital conditions. We also check your baby’s growth, confirm the heartbeat, and check the uterus.
• Anatomy scan: We do this between 18 and 22 weeks. This is a detailed scan of your baby’s organs. It also checks the placenta, amniotic fluid, and cervix. Often, you can find out your baby’s sex.

If you're dealing with pelvic pain, heavy or painful periods, fertility concerns, or a high-risk pregnancy, imaging can help. At Carilion, we use a wide range of reproductive imaging tests to better understand what’s happening inside your body. These tests give you and your care team the information you need to make the best decisions.

Growth scan and Doppler ultrasound

If we think there may be an issue, we’ll use an ultrasound to check the health of your baby and placenta.

• Growth scan: Measures your baby’s size, weight, and amniotic fluid levels
• Doppler ultrasound: Looks at blood flow in the umbilical cord, placenta, and baby’s body

Infertility concerns

Infertility is when you're having trouble getting or staying pregnant. These imaging tests can help identify problems with your uterus or fallopian tubes.

• Saline infusion sonography: This is a special transvaginal ultrasound. We do it after filling the uterus with sterile solution. It's also called a sonohysterography. It allows the doctor to get a better look at the shape, structure, and lining of the uterus.
• Hysterosalpingography: This is a real-time X-ray video image of the uterus. We add contrast dye to the uterus. Using a fluoroscope positioned above your pelvis, we can see how the dye moves through the fallopian tubes. It helps see blocked tubes and find uterine tumors, fibroids, and polyps.
• Hysteroscopy: This is a real-time video of the inside of the uterus. We insert a flexible tube with a tiny lighted camera through the vagina to see your uterus. It transmits pictures to a computer screen. The doctor can see uterine polyps or fibroids, bleeding, scar tissue, retained tissue or signs of cancer, or a thickened uterine lining. It can also detect uterine shape problems like a septum.

Ultrasound for gynecologic concerns

We don’t just use the pelvic ultrasound during pregnancy. It can help us understand what’s going on with the uterus, ovaries, and other structures at any time. It can help find the cause of pain, irregular bleeding, or heavy periods.

Cervical cancer screening follow-up

If you’ve had abnormal results from a cervical cancer screening, we may use imaging for follow-up testing. We’ll look more closely at your uterus or check for gynecologic cancer using CT scans, MRI scans, and a PET/CT scan combination.

Pelvic blood vessel imaging

If you’ve had pelvic trauma or we suspect there may be an issue with blood flow there, we may use advanced imaging tests to look at the blood vessels.

We use magnetic resonance angiography. This technique uses a strong magnetic field, sound waves, and a computer to take detailed images of blood vessels in your pelvis. It can help us find injuries to the arteries there.

Imaging can do more than just show us what’s wrong. It's vital to help take samples and do treatments without the need for surgery. Interventional radiologists do many of these procedures. They use thin tools and real-time imaging for precise care and faster recovery.

Pregnancy procedures

If early screenings suggest your baby may have a health issue, you may decide to do more tests. This could be either chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis. These take samples to diagnose genetic conditions and certain congenital differences in babies.

We do these using real-time ultrasound guidance and a needle. We take a sample of the placenta or amniotic fluid, either through the belly or the cervix.

Fibroid procedures

We use several nonsurgical treatments to target and shrink uterine fibroids. Imaging helps us guide tools precisely to the fibroid, while protecting nearby tissue.

• Uterine fibroid (or artery) embolization: This procedure blocks blood flow to fibroids. Under live X-ray guidance, the doctor injects small particles into the vessels that supply blood to the uterus.
• Radiofrequency ablation: This procedure is used to shrink the fibroid. Guided by ultrasound, the doctor guides a small needle into the uterine fibroid tissue and heats it.
• MRI-guided focused ultrasound: The doctor uses ultrasonic pulses to heat and destroy fibroids. They use MRI imaging to target the fibroids and avoid healthy tissue. It’s also called focused ultrasound ablation or focused ultrasound surgery.

Open blocked fallopian tubes

This procedure helps clear blockages in the fallopian tubes that may prevent pregnancy. Called fallopian tube recanalization. Your doctor may do this during a hysterosalpingography to open blocked tubes. This restores natural flow through the reproductive tract, allowing the egg to reach the uterus.

Treat pelvic congestion syndrome

Pelvic congestion syndrome is chronic pelvic pain from enlarged or malfunctioning ovarian veins. Your doctor can use imaging to guide a minimally invasive treatment called ovarian vein embolization. This procedure uses a catheter to block off blood flow to the faulty vein. This helps relieve pressure and reduce pain over time.

Tissue biopsy

When imaging shows a mass or abnormal tissue, your doctor may want to take a sample and test it. This is a biopsy. In the pelvic and reproductive organs, we use imaging to guide a thin needle into the area and collect a sample. This helps us get the most accurate sample with the least amount of discomfort.

Drain fluid

After gynecologic surgery or during a pelvic infection, fluid can build up in the abdomen. A pelvic drainage procedure uses imaging to guide a catheter into the right place to drain fluid safely. This can help relieve pressure, reduce pain, and lower the risk of complications.