Radiology: Past, Present And Future

Dr Deepak Patkar, Consultant Radiologist and HOD Radiology — Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital, details how radiology has evolved across the decades to emerge as a key diagnostic and therapeutic tool in healthcare delivery

Radiology since its origin as a medical speciality has been a keystone in health care. It is probably one of the most rapidly advancing branches in medicine. As we all know, to start treatment for any ailment the first thing needed is correct diagnosis and no one can imagine diagnosing diseases without radiologic investigations. Earlier, physicians had to rely on their clinical knowledge and skills to diagnose diseases, which was mainly based on imagination like they used to suspect that a patient with right lower abdomen pain could have acute appendicitis but now we can actually see and pick up diseases. Medicine with radiology has moved from imagination to imaging and now we are in an era where technology is even beyond imagination.

Technology has progressed by leaps and bounds, pushing the boundaries of imaging for the benefit of mankind. Radiology has moved from conventional analogue systems to digital image acquisition modalities. Direct radiography systems, to start with, allow improved image quality and/or dose reduction. With amorphous Selenium coated flat panel thin film transistor (TFT) array technology, there is improvement of the workflow due to shorter preview times and therefore a higher thoroughput of patients.

Ultrasound is a perfect combination of effective, sensitive and non invasive, free of radiation, bedside, portable as well as patient friendly imaging technique. The high end scanning systems enable us to do real time 3D and 4D scans. None of the other modalities compare with USG in terms of antenatal scans. Colour doppler evaluations are a part and parcel of vascular medicine.