Angio - So confusing......

[garyolly]

This might sound a bit pedantic but recently several posts have been a bit confusing to me.:confused:

When somebody mentions an angio, are they meaning a CTa or a Formal Angio? Some posts have even crossed between an angio and then mentioned not liking the noise an MRI makes.

My take on these scans are:

CT= light scan of head/neck, no dye.

CTangio= light scan of head / neck with dye.

Formal Angio= Scan of head /neck via groin or neck, with or without dye

MRI= scan of head / neck / body using magnetic pulses (the noisey one)

Is this right???:confused:

It might sound odd but it gets confusing when reading or answering a post, OR is it just me being a duffer.????:lol:

Edited August 17, 2010 by garyolly

[Gill C]

Gary I think you are right, the CT scan is a donut shaped scanner whereas the MRI is the metal tunnel noisy one with magnetic pulses. My angio was with a small black overhead scanner that looked like neither a Ct ot MRI scanner but was done ith dye through the groin (& flshing lights behind the eyes& funny tastes across your mouth)

[Karen]

Hi Gary,

No, you're not being a duffer! .... I know what you mean and it can get confusing ....

I think that a lot of people get confused about the different types of brain scans on this site. I know that I did in the early days, especially when I was asked to go for a MRA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_angiography ... I didn't have a clue what it was.

As far as I'm concerned an angio or cerebral angiogram is via the groin and a brain scan is where somebody gets put into a scanning machine...whether it be a CT or MRI scanner.

[maggie]

When somebody mentions an angio, are they meaning a CTa or a Formal Angio? Some posts have even crossed between an angio and then mentioned not liking the noise an MRI makes.

Thanks for sorting that out Gary and for clarifying. I was getting a tad confused as to what was being done to people and scared to ask:roll:!

[Angela]

Hi Gary ,an Angio or Cerebral Angiography.is where they go in through the groin with a catheter and a dye is released so they can get images of the brain

I know it can be confusing even more so if someone has not had one and doesn't know about them

Hope this helps

take care x

[Super Mario]

Hi Gary ,an Angio or Cerebral Angiography.is where they go in through the groin with a catheter and a dye is released so they can get images of the brain

I know it can be confusing even more so if someone has not had one and doesn't know about them

Hope this helps

take care x

What is used to track the progress of the dye in a cerebral angiogram (the catheter going in through the femoral or carotid artery) is called an Image Intensifier, a type of xray that means the surgeon can see the progress on a monitor and take appropriate stills.

[garyolly]

Thanks to all, i know what they are but i'm with Maggie. Sometimes people mix up the different scans and it gets confusing. Especially when they are asking a question.

[laanka]

Hi Gary

I asked the question about angios as I had not had one while awake and was unclear what contraption would be used for the pics.I hate the confined feeling when having the ct scan or the mri or also the mra.

Who knows what they call them but knowing this could take an hour I was dreading being confined for an hour.I was lucky and got the needed information on here advising that it would be like a scanning machine.In fact it was very similar to the very first types of scanners used in midwifery in that it came very close but never made contact.Showing my age now !

[winter]

It IS confusing - I had one done 6 months post SAH to check the coils. I was given a twilight anesthesia - went in through the groin, via cathetar, and into artery and up into the brain (same procedure, I believe, used to place the coils) which is all quite amazing! The procedure took about 40 min., I came to about 1 hr. after and left the hospital 2 1/2 hrs. from the time I arrived! They called it cerebral angiogram w/contrast. Will have another in 6 months.