In modern healthcare, radiology means diagnostic imaging involving multiple tests that take pictures/images of various body parts. These images help medical professionals to diagnose the disease correctly and prescribe the medications accordingly. Medical professionals use these images for the following purposes:
- To diagnose the disease, if your body shows any symptom
- Monitor the progress of the treatment you are receiving for your medical condition.
- For the screening of various diseases such as cancer
Radiology helps detect diseases early, start treatment before the condition gets complicate, and thereby save lives.
Types of Radiology
Different types of radiology exist nowadays:
- Diagnostic Radiology – Mainly used for diagnosing and treating diseases using ultrasound, X-ray, and electromagnetic radiation.
- Interventional Radiology – Usually used for assisting surgical procedures. Interventional radiology procedures are less painful, low risky, less expensive and more effective than conventional surgeries. It uses needles or catheters to treat conditions inside your body. Interventional radiology is use for patients with non-cancerous conditions.
- Radiation oncology – Mostly used for carrying out radiation-based therapy in cancer patients.
Different Imaging Techniques
These days, different imaging techniques are X-ray, CT scan, MRI, ultrasound, and Fluoroscopy.
X-Rays: Plain radiographs or X-rays use rays to locate fractures or other dysfunctional features inside the body.
CT Scan: CT scan images deliver more-detailed information than X-ray images. It uses a series of X-rays and computer processing to produce cross-sectional images of the blood vessels, bones and soft tissues.
MRI Scan: MRI scan uses powerful magnetic fields as well as radio waves to produce images. Health professionals use MRI scans to evaluate issues in soft tissues. Usually, it’s use to diagnose conditions like tumors, torn ligaments, etc.
Ultrasound Scan: Ultrasound scans produce moving images by using high-frequency sound waves. This imaging technique is use to monitor the fetus during pregnancy or to diagnose a medical condition. It’s also used to guide surgeons in particular procedures.
Fluoroscopy: Fluoroscopy produces real-time moving images of the body parts by passing X-rays through the body over a while. Health professionals usually use this technique to look at body parts such as the urinary, reproductive, and respiratory systems.
AI in Medical Imaging
Advancement of technology in healthcare embraced the radiology segment as well, and today, AI (Artificial Intelligence) plays an important role in medical imaging. In radiology means, AI takes medical images as input, analyses the image, and returns answers to radiologists. Various reasons why AI became a game changer in the healthcare industry are:
- These days extensive health-relate data is produce using smartphones, smartwatches and other devices. Processing them manually involves a lot of physician burnout. AI analyses and interprets this data as well as uncovers its hidden insights. It helps to improve individual and community health.
- AI tools perform exceptionally well than humans in identifying image features. It produces results with high accuracy and exactness, reduces errors, and completes tasks at lightning speed.
- AI helps to pick up repetitive tasks. If done by humans, these tasks may take ample time, and the chances for errors are high as a lot of data is involv in the process.
- Using AI to diagnose disease improves treatment, delivering more successful and advance therapies.
- AI solutions are highly cost-effective and available round- the clock.
- AI ensures safer surgeries. Robots used in surgeries perform more accurately around delicate organs and tissues, resulting in less bleeding, a low contamination risk, and postoperative discomforts. It also reduces the scars and ensures swift recovery.
- AI ensures a better patient experience. It collects reports, scans data, and quickly guides patients on which specialist they should consult. It also helps to avoid confusion and disorder in medical situations.
These days with the sedentary lifestyle of people, visits to hospitals and clinical tests have become more frequent; hence the medical expenses. But the Health Prime plan from Bajaj Finserv prevents you from paying too much money on unforeseen medical conditions. The advantages of the Health Prime plan include:
- Unlimited consultation of doctors through either video or tele consultation. However, clinical consultations do not come under the coverage limit of this plan.
- Cashless testing at network diagnostic centres. Bajaj Finserv has collaborated with lab testing facilities such as Thyrocare, Dr. Lal Pathlabs, Metropolis, NM Medical, Suburban Diagnostics, etc.
- The members of the Health Prime plan are eligible to get discounts on radiology as well as pathology tests undertaken at the network hospitals and labs.
- Discounts on pharmacy bills at all major hospitals in India.
You can avail yourself of Bajaj Finserv’s Health Prime membership at an annual fee of Rs.699, and against it, you will be eligible to get savings up to Rs. 10,000 on your health expenses. You can buy the Health Prime membership online from Bajaj Finserv by sharing your basic details.
