Diagnostic Imaging & Testing

Sauk Prairie Healthcare's Medical Imaging department incorporates state-of-the-art imaging in a personalized and healing environment.

Diagnostic testing available includes the following:

• X-Ray (general radiography): X-rays are the oldest form of diagnostic imaging tests. They are the fastest, simplest way for physicians to view and assess hard structures inside the body, such as bones, kidney stones, and more.
• Mammography: These tests are X-rays of the breasts to find abnormalities and for early detection of breast cancer before any symptoms are noticeable, such as a breast lump. Breast cancer is most treatable in its earliest stages.
• Nuclear medicine: Used to diagnose medical issues and treat disease, this type of medical test involves a safe amount of radioactive material so specialists can see the body’s internal structures to make informed decisions about their health or to prescribe treatment plans.
• CT (computed tomography): This non-invasive diagnostic imaging test is used in multiple contexts. It can be used on any part of the body to take cross-dimensional X-rays used to diagnose cancer or heart disease, among other reasons.
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging): This is a safe, noninvasive diagnostic imaging test that yields very clear, cross-sectional images of the soft structures inside the body that other tests cannot achieve. MRI scans use a strong magnetic field that emits radiofrequency waves to produce images.
• Ultrasound: This test uses a medical probe or handheld transducer to get clear pictures of the body’s soft internal structures that do not show up well on an X-ray. It can diagnose and pinpoint the cause of inexplicable pain, swelling, or infections.
• Stress testing: Also called an echocardiogram, stress tests are usually performed by having the patient walk on a treadmill to measure their heart rate and blood pressure. The test can measure how the heart responds both at rest, during exercise, and after exercise.
• Non-invasive peripheral vascular testing: Doctors utilize this type of test to help determine the patient’s risk for cardiovascular heart disease as well as peripheral vascular disease (PVD). The test is painless, noninvasive, and only takes about half an hour to complete.
• ECG (electrocardiogram): This highly advanced test is noninvasive and quick. It measures the heart’s electrical activity to diagnose many types of heart conditions and diagnose a prior heart attack, unusual heartbeat (arrhythmia), atrial fibrillation (a-fib), pulmonary embolism, structural heart disease, and valvular heart disease.