Do football players get a lot of CT scans?

Why? In the context of the high-flying, hard-hitting NFL, medical personnel usually use CT scans to quickly look for one of a few things, each of them scary—even life-threatening. First, following a hit to the head, doctors and athletic trainers always look for signs of a bleed within the skull.

How does a CTE scan work?

A computerized tomography (CT) scan combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles around your body and uses computer processing to create cross-sectional images (slices) of the bones, blood vessels and soft tissues inside your body. CT scan images provide more-detailed information than plain X-rays do.

How is CT scan done for head?

Head CT is done in the hospital or radiology center. You lie on a narrow table that slides into the center of the CT scanner. While inside the scanner, the machine’s x-ray beam rotates around you. A computer creates separate images of the body area, called slices.

What does a CT of the head include?

A CT (computed tomography) or CAT (computerized axial tomography) head scan looks inside your head and neck. CT and CAT scans are the same test. Special X-ray technology gives your doctor a picture of your skull, brain, eyes, nasal passages, veins, arteries, and tissue. It’s a common test.

Do football stadiums have CT scans?

Some teams have CT scans as well now, for more thorough evaluation of injuries such as arm or leg fractures. Studies are underway to use immediate CT scanning at the stadium to evaluate for concussions as well.

Do football stadiums have MRI?

Stadium MRI? Two stadiums, in Dallas and Cincinnati, have MRI scanners onsite. Some argue that every stadium should have MRI machines, but Matava says having MRIs onsite isn’t that practical.

What waves do CT scans use?

However, CT scans use x-rays, and all x-rays produce ionizing radiation.

How do you read a CT scan?

To read a CT scan, start by noting the shades of white, gray, and black. The white area signals dense tissues like bone, the gray area represents soft tissues and fluids, and the dark gray and black area shows air and fat.

What does abnormal head CT mean?

The abnormal CT scan was defined as any finding ascribed to head trauma including skull fracture, cerebral edema, epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma, cerebral contusion, intracerebral hematoma, intraventricular hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Do sports teams have their own MRI?

The Bengals have an MRI facility in the lower level of Paul Brown Stadium. The Cincinnati Bengals possess something no other NFL team does. It is the only franchise with an MRI facility at its own stadium. “It’s awesome,” Bengals guard Christian Westerman said.