IN THIS SECTION

• Behavioral Health
• Cardiac Rehabilitation
• Cardio Pulmonary
  • - Bronchoscopy
  • - Echocardiogram
  • - EKG
  • - EEG
  • - Pulmonary Function
  • - Smoking Cessation
  • - TEE
• Chest Pain Center
• Dental
  • - Oral Health
• Diabetes Education
• Diagnostic Imaging
  • - CT 64 Slice
  • - CT Angiography
  • - Women's Imaging
  • - MRI
  • - Nuclear
  • - 4D Ultrasound
  • - Xray
• Dialysis
• Digestive Disease Center
  • - Colonoscopy
  • - Upper GI Endoscopy
  • - Lower GI Endoscopy
• Emergency Medicine
• Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
• Immediate Treatment Care
• Inpatient Care
  • - Nutrition
  • - Intensive Care Unit
  • - Pediatrics
• Laboratory
• Radiation Medicine
• OB/GYN
• Occupational Wellness Center
• Olean General Healthcare
• Pastoral Care
• Rehabilitation
  • - Outpatient Rehabilitation
• Salamanca Primary Care Clinic
• Sleep Center
  • - Sleepiness Scale
  • - Sleep Studies
    What to Expect
  • - Sleep Apnea
  • - Insomnia
  • - Restless Legs Syndrome
  • - Narcolepsy
  • - Tips for Better Sleep
• Surgical Services
• Volunteer Service
• Wound Care
  • - Hyper Oxygen Therapy
  • - Hyper Oxygen Chamber
  • - Your Visit

Programs & Services

Diagnostic Imaging

CT Angiography

Advances in CT scanners have resulted in a new minimally invasive diagnostic imaging test that permits physicians to diagnose and treat diseases of the major blood vessels including veins and arteries.  Called CT Angiography (CTA), this procedure uses our new state-of-the-art high speed and high-resolution 64 slice CT scanner together with a contrast agent to provide exquisitely detailed cross- sectional images of blood vessels without the need for more invasive and complex approaches.

Typically, CT Angiography is used to examine the condition of blood vessels throughout the body including the brain, kidneys, pelvis, legs, lungs, heart and neck to identify a number of conditions and diseases.  Some of these include:

• identifying the presence of aneurysms
• checking for the development of atherosclerosis a condition which causes a restriction in blood flowing through arteries of the neck and can lead to a stroke
• evaluating the presence or extent of coronary artery disease
• planning for a surgical bypass; identifying malformations of vessels in the brain
• determining the presence of renal artery disease; assisting in the placement of stents to correct narrowed vessels
• detecting clots in veins
• evaluating prospective kidney donors
• rapidly assessing chest pain

About the procedure

CT Angiography is fast and generally painless and avoids the complexities used in conventional angiography where catheters were threaded through vessels to inject contrast agents.  Performed as an outpatient procedure at Olean General, patients are positioned on the CT exam table where an IV is started so that contrast material can be injected to better visualize areas being examined.  The sophisticated procedure sequences the injection of the contrast agent with the sequencing of images being produced by the scanner and resulting in exceptionally detailed diagnostic images.

The entire procedure takes about one hour with the actual scanning time taking between 15-25 minutes.  Once the images are reviewed the patient can return home

Benefits

The inherent benefits of CT Angiography are impressive:

• As a minimally invasive procedure venous and arterial examination is simplified.
• Compared to conventional angiography risks are greatly minimized since catheters are no longer threaded through vessels avoiding the risk of vessel perforation.
• Incisions to insert the catheters are no longer required
• The procedure time is dramatically shortened.
• Patients can return home after the procedure.
• CTA is a safe way to screen for arterial disease
• CTA may actually eliminate the need for surgery and if it is necessary, it can be performed more accurately.

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