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The use of CT or CAT scans and EBT scanning for specific interior regions of the body are now established procedures for use in prevention and cure of diseases. The specific techniques applied have much to do with resources available, the exact regions of concern within the patient's body and the degrees of information desired.

Partial scans may be done with both CT and EBT equipment. The scans are radiologic and computer enhanced. The CT scanner is a donut- shaped machine that obtains cross-sectional pictures of the body termed "slices." The Electron Beam Tomography (EBT) unit employs an electron beam focused on a tungston target beneath the patient with similar graphics provided to the specialist.

The x-ray scan pictures provide views of the inner body and are recorded and stored in the computer. Data is then reconstructed and the brightness of the cross-sectional portions is determined by the x-ray absorption. The images may be stored, displayed for immediate evaluation on film or transmitted to another location.

Though presently acclaimed as "screening" techniques in the prevention of disease, scanners play an active, day-to-day, role in emergency room situations. CAT scans are widely used to detect a wide range of injuries from falls in the home, to car collisions, to sports accidents.

Under more routine conditions the scans offer clear and "virtual" pictures of the heart, lungs and internal organs. Scans will find abnormalities in carotid arteries, pulmonary obstructions, and discover the smallest of tumors in soft tissue. CT scans of the spine have been extremely useful in finding lesions of the spinal cord and lumbar disc herniation.

Overall, modern x-ray scanning is done with minimal radiation and very little discomfort for the patient. Wide spread application has decreased the need for some testing and eliminated many exploratory surgical procedures used before "virtual" scans.