Editing CT scan (section)

{{short description|Medical imaging procedure using X-rays to produce cross-sectional images}}
{{cs1 config|name-list-style=vanc}}
{{about|X-ray computed tomography as used in medicine| cross-sectional images used in industry|Industrial computed tomography|means of tomography other than X-ray|Tomography}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox medical intervention
 |Name        = CT scan
 |Image       =
 |Caption     = Modern photon-counting CT scanner in 2021 (Siemens NAEOTOM Alpha)
 |synonyms    = {{Indented plainlist|
* computed tomography 
* CAT scan (computerized axial tomography,<ref name="mayoclinic">{{Cite web |title=CT scan – Mayo Clinic |url=http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/ct-scan/basics/definition/prc-20014610 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015182843/http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/ct-scan/basics/definition/prc-20014610 |archive-date=15 October 2016 |access-date=20 October 2016 |publisher=mayoclinic.org}}</ref> computer aided tomography)
* X-ray CT (X-ray computed tomography)
}}
 |ICD10       = B?2
 |ICD9        = {{ICD9proc|88.38}}
 |MeshID      = D014057
 |MedlinePlus = 003330
 |OPS301      = {{OPS301|3–20...3–26}}
 |OtherCodes  = 
}}A '''computed tomography scan''' ('''CT scan'''),  formerly called '''computed axial tomography scan''' ('''CAT scan'''), is a [[medical imaging]] technique used to obtain detailed internal images of the body.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Hermena |first1=Shady |title=CT-scan Image Production Procedures |date=2022 |work=StatPearls |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK574548/ |access-date=2023-11-24 |place=Treasure Island, Florida |publisher=StatPearls Publishing |pmid=34662062 |last2=Young |first2=Michael}}</ref> The personnel that perform CT scans are called [[radiographer]]s or radiology technologists.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Patient Page |url=https://www.arrt.org/Patient-Public/Patient-Page |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109192141/https://www.arrt.org/Patient-Public/Patient-Page |archive-date=9 November 2014 |website=ARRT – The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Individual State Licensure Information |url=http://www.asrt.org/main/standards-regulations/state-legislative-affairs/individual-state-licensure-info |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718215951/http://www.asrt.org/main/standards-regulations/state-legislative-affairs/individual-state-licensure-info |archive-date=18 July 2013 |access-date=19 July 2013 |publisher=American Society of Radiologic Technologists}}</ref>

CT scanners use a rotating [[X-ray tube]] and a row of detectors placed in a [[gantry (medical)|gantry]] to measure X-ray [[Attenuation#Radiography|attenuations]] by different tissues inside the body. The multiple [[X-ray]] measurements taken from different angles are then processed on a computer using [[tomographic reconstruction]] algorithms to produce [[Tomography|tomographic]] (cross-sectional) images (virtual "slices") of a body. CT scans can be used in patients with metallic implants or pacemakers, for whom [[magnetic resonance imaging]] (MRI) is [[Contraindication|contraindicated]].[[File:Belangrijke ontwikkeling in röntgenonderzoek dankzij 'computer-tomograaf' Weeknummer, 77-12 - Open Beelden - 21994.ogv|thumb|1977 Dutch newsreel about CT scan]]

Since its development in the 1970s, CT scanning has proven to be a versatile imaging technique. While CT is most prominently used in [[medical diagnosis]], it can also be used to form images of non-living objects. The 1979 [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] was awarded jointly to South African-American physicist [[Allan MacLeod Cormack]] and British electrical engineer [[Godfrey Hounsfield]] "for the development of computer-assisted tomography".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1979 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1979/summary/ |access-date=2019-08-10 |website=NobelPrize.org |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1979 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1979/press-release/ |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=NobelPrize.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

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