computerized axial tomography


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CAT scan

CAT scan (kăt) [computerized axial tomography], X-ray technique that allows relatively safe, painless, and rapid diagnosis in previously inaccessible areas of the body; also called CT scan. An X-ray tube, rotating around a specific area of the body, delivers an appropriate amount of X radiation for the tissue being studied and takes pictures of that part of the internal anatomy from different angles. More recent scanners have a stationary X-ray tube and use deflecting coils and special reflectors to position the X-ray beam. A computer program is then used to form a composite, readable image. CAT scanning has revolutionized medicine, especially neurology, by facilitating the diagnosis of brain and spinal cord disorders, cancer, and other conditions. Ultrafast CT, or electron beam CT, is able to take pictures in a tenth of a second. It is useful in creating images of moving parts, such as the heart, without blurring.
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computerized axial tomography

[kəm¦pyüd·ə‚rīzd ¦ak·sē·əl tə′mä·grə·fē]
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Early presumptive clinical diagnosis supported by radiologic evidence (computerized axial tomography [CAT] scan and magnetic resonance imaging) is the mainstay of diagnosis (1).
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VanDecar, James, and their South American colleagues performed seismic tomography - a technique akin to the medical computerized axial tomography, or CAT scan - using earthquake waves recorded at sites in Brazil.
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The effort has already produced a complete X-ray atlas of "Adam." Compiled using computerized axial tomography (CAT) scans, each of its 1,735 cross-sectional images corresponds to a different 1-millimeter-thick "slice" through the body, Ackerman explains.
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McIntosh says computerized axial tomography, also known as CAT scanning, or other nondestructive tests might reveal whether intact fossils are solid bone.
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The process is akin to computerized axial tomography, or CAT scan, which uses X-rays to image the interior of the human body.
The whole-earth syndrome; as the inner earth comes into focus, geoscientists are beginning to see the ties that bind together the different sections of the planet

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