Services

•Digital Mammography – also called full-field digital mammography (FFDM), is a mammography system in which the x-ray film is replaced by solid-state detectors that convert x-rays into electrical signals. The electrical signals are used to produce images of the breast that can be seen on a computer screen or printed on special film similar to conventional mammograms. From the patient’s point of view, having a digital mammogram is essentially the same as having a conventional film mammogram.

•Digital X-Ray – a form of x-ray imaging, where digital X-ray sensors are used instead of traditional photographic film. Advantages include time efficiency through bypassing chemical processing and the ability to digitally transfer and enhance images. Also less radiation can be used to produce an image of similar contrast to conventional radiography.

•Bone Density Studies – Bone density is measured by a procedure called densitometry. The measurement is painless and non-invasive and involves low radiation exposure. Measurements are most commonly made over the lumbar spine and over the upper part of the hip. The forearm may be scanned if the hip and lumbar spine is not accessible.

•Pulmonary Function Testing – a group of tests that measure how well the lungs take in and release air and how well they move gases such as oxygen from the atmosphere into the body’s circulation. Measurements are taken by breathing into a mouthpiece that is connected to an instrument called a spirometer. The spirometer records the amount and the rate of air breathed in and out over a period of time. For some of the test measurements, breathing is normal and quiet. Other tests require forced inhalation or exhalation after a deep breath.

•Treadmill Testing – The exercise stress test—also called a stress test, exercise electrocardiogram, treadmill test, graded exercise test, or stress ECG—is a test used to provide information about how the heart responds to exertion. It usually involves walking on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary bike at increasing levels of difficulty, while your electrocardiogram, heart rate, and blood pressure are monitored.

•EKG& Heart Monitoring – An ambulatory electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) records the electrical activity of your heart while you do your usual activities. Ambulatory monitors are referred to by several names, including ambulatory electrocardiogram, ambulatory EKG, Holter monitoring, 24-hour EKG, or cardiac event monitoring. Many heart problems become noticeable only during activity, such as exercise, eating, sex, stress, bowel movements, or even sleeping. A continuous 24-hour recording is more likely to detect any abnormal heartbeats that occur during these activities.

•Ultrasound Studies – Medical sonography (ultrasonography) is an ultrasound-based diagnostic medical imaging technique used to visualize muscles, tendons, and many internal organs, to capture their size, structure and any pathological lesions with real time tomographic images. Ultrasound has been used by radiologists and sonographers to image the human body for at least 50 years and has become one of the most widely used diagnostic tools in modern medicine.

•Echocardiography – An echocardiogram, often referred to as a cardiac ECHO or simply an ECHO, is a sonogram of the heart. Also known as a cardiac ultrasound, it uses standard ultrasound techniques to image two-dimensional slices of the heart. The latest ultrasound systems now employ 3D real-time imaging. In addition to creating two-dimensional pictures of the cardiovascular system, an echocardiogram can also produce accurate assessment of the velocity of blood and cardiac tissue at any arbitrary point in the cardiovascular system.

•Laboratory Test Services – Shelby Medical Associates offers a wide range of in-office test services, cutting the need for external laboratories.

•Sleep Studies – Sleep studies are tests that watch what happens to the body during sleep that may cause interruptions in proper rest. Sleep problems can include sleep apnea, narcolepsy, sleepwalking, night terrors, bed-wetting, insomnia, shift work sleep disorder and conditions such as periodic limb movement disorder. Sleep studies can also determine whether you have a problem with your stages of sleep. The two stages of sleep are non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM).

•C-Pap Equipment – Positive airway pressure (PAP) is a mode of respiratory ventilation used primarily in the treatment of sleep apnea, for which it was first developed. PAP ventilation is also commonly used for those who are critically ill in hospital with respiratory failure, and in newborn infants (neonates). In these patients, PAP ventilation can prevent the need for tracheal intubation, or allow earlier extubation. Sometimes patients with neuromuscular diseases use this variety of ventilation as well. CPAP is an acronym for continuous positive airway pressure.