A Blog for Healthcare Consumers

CT scans are frequently used to evaluate the bony structures of the cervical spine, also known as the upper neck. If you've injured your neck or have chronic neck pain, your doctor will probably first order an x-ray. After an x-ray, a CT scan may be needed to evaluate the bones and soft tissue structures of the cervical spine in more detail. On your doctor's order for the CT scan you might see:

"r/o disc disease" -  this refers to the discs that act as shock absorbers between the vertebral bodies of the spine. They can be injured or "flatten" over time and bulge out and press on nerve roots. The CT scan can detect these narrowings.

"r/o stenosis" - this refers to narrowing of the spinal canal and openings for the nerve roots. Bulging discs and other degenerative changes like osteophytes of the spine can narrow the spinal canal, causing neck pain or weakness. CT scans are very good at looking for osteophytes which are bony outgrowths from the spine.

"r/o fracture" - CT scans can pick up fractures of the cervical spine and look for subtle alignment changes. Alignment changes can be due to injuries to the stabilizing ligaments of the spine or related to long term degenerative disc disease.

(FYI - "r/o" is short for "rule out")

A CT scan of the cervical spine will evaluate:

Bones

A cervical spine CT scan will include the cervical vertebral bodies, lamina, facets, spinous process and parts of the upper thoracic spine and lower skull. The cervical spine CT scan can detect bone fractures, tumors, infection and evaluate post-surgical changes. An CT scan can also determine the extent of degenerative changes (arthritis) and be used for pre-operative planning for spinal fusion.

Discs

Cervical spine CT scans are can evaluate  the discs between your vertebral bodies. A cervical spine CT scan can detect disc flattening, bulges, herniations, and infection (aka discitis).

Spinal Canal and Neural Foramina

Spinal nerves arise from spinal cord and leave the spinal canal through holes called the neural foramina. The canal and these exit points can be blocked and cause neck, shoulder, arm, hand pain or weakness.

Cerebellum and Brain Stem

Parts of the lower brain including the cerebellum are seen. Some cerebellar conditions such as Chiari malformations can present with neck pain. The brain stem is continuous with the upper cervical spinal cord though usually not a cause of issues with the cervical spine. 

Soft Tissues

This refers to the muscles and tissues around your cervical spine. The cervical spine CT scan can detect infections, fluid collections and tumors of these structures.

Your Cervical Spine CT Scan

A cervical spine CT generally takes about 15 minutes or so to complete.  If you've had surgery or have a history of cancer, you may might have to have the test done with IV contrast.

If you're insured, you may need to have your test authorized (approved) by your insurance company first. If you're uninsured  use our website to look up CT scan of the cervical spine scan costs, find a certified imaging center and buy your test with a credit card.

Have you had a Cervical Spine CT scan? What was it like? Please leave your comments below.

MRA stands for Magnetic Resonance Angiography. It is an MRI technique that specifically evaluates vessels such as arteries. Carotid MRAs evaluate the vessels of the neck to look for aneurysms, vascular tumors, narrowing and blockage of the vessels of the neck, among others. 

Carotid MRAs are typically ordered for the evaluation of stroke to detect blockages and narrowing of the arteries in the neck that ultimately supply the brain. Symptoms related to stroke include:

• weakness
• sudden speech difficulties
• confusion, erratic behavior
• vertigo, dizziness
• pain, tingling
  
• numbness

Carotid MRAs can diagnose:

Plaque - Carotid MRAs can detect plaque deposits that overtime can narrow the opening of the vessel leading to reduced blood flow to the brain. Some plaque can abruptly "tear" off sending bits of plaque up into the brain, blocking small vessels. Sometimes these tiny blockages can be completely unnoticed and other times cause the symptoms of stroke. In some cases the vessel can narrow to a point and cause a rushing sound in the neck called a "bruit." The sound is blood trying to get through the narrow opening. Carotid MRAs can also pick up complete blockages of these vessels as well.

Dissection - This refers to a tear in the wall of the vessel. Think of it as a tear of the inner lining of the sleeve of a jacket. If you filled the inner lining of your jacket with down it would block the real opening for your arm.  In the artery the blood goes into the opening of the tear of the dissection, expands the false channel, potentially blocking the flow of blood to the brain and resulting in stroke like symptoms.

Aneurysms and Vascular Tumors - Aneurysms are ballooning of the vessels that can either disturb normal blood flow or by their shape and size press on nearby tissues and cause related symptoms such as neck pain, pressure, nerve blockage, etc. Vascular tumors may be picked as the vessels that feed them are large enough to be seen on the MRA.

An MRA of the carotids will evaluate:

Internal Carotid Arteries

The carotid vessels arise from the aorta in the chest and travel up the neck along both sides. The vessels splits in the neck with the "internal" segments feeding roughly the front 2/3 of brain tissue. The "external" segments feed the face and parts of the scalp and skull.

Vereberal and Basilar Arteries

The basilar artery is made up by two vertebral arteries which arise from vessels in the chest and travel up along both sides of the neck near the spine. This vessel feeds the brain stem and approximately the back 1/3 of the brain.

Aortic Arch

Neck soft tissues

Parts of the soft tissues of the neck are seen in a Carotid MRA. Occasionally large tumors, unusual inflammation or other findings can be picked up. 

Your Carotid MRA Scan

A Carotid MRA generally takes about 10 to 15 minutes or so to complete. If you are going for one, wear loose comfortable clothing and remember to remove all metal (jewelry, phones, rings, etc) before going into the MRI scan room.  This test is occasionally done with IV MRI contrast.

If you're insured, you may need to have your test authorized (approved) by your insurance company first. If you're uninsured and need to look up prices and buy an MRA scan of the carotids, you can use our website to look up MRA scan costs and then purchase with your credit card.

Have you had a Carotid MRA scan? What was it like? Please leave your comments below.

CT scans are frequently used to evaluate the internal structures of the body. A variety of trends have increased the use of CT including new high resolution scanners that give greater anatomical detail and faster scanning time - scans that used to take minutes can now be done in seconds.

A CT scan of the Kidneys for stones is a CT scan test that specifically looks for stones in the Kidneys, Ureters and Bladder (therefore KUB). This scan is frequently done in the emergency room for patients with sudden onset sharp side and back pain who have blood in their urine. It's also ordered by outpatient doctors as well for similar symptoms. As an outpatient you may get an order from your doctor for:

"r/o renal stones" -  CT KUB is very good at picking up small and large calcified stones in the kidneys. It can also detect stones in the ureters which are small tubes that connect your kidneys (just under your rib cage) to your bladder (in the pelvis).

"h/o hematuria"- hematuria means blood in the urine. Stones can irritate the urinary drainage system leading to mild bleeding. The bleeding is usually detected on a urine lab test ("microscopic hematuria") or occasionally can present with obvious, visible bleeding ("gross hematuria").

"h/o flank pain" - renal stones occasionally cause dull or sharp pain along the sides of your lower chest and upper abdomen. Sometimes the pain can radiate to the pelvis and into the testicle or labia. This type of pain is can be seen with urinary medical issues.

(FYI - "r/o" is short for "rule out" and "h/o" is short for "history of")

An CT scan of the kidneys will evaluate:

Kidneys, Ureters, Bladder

A CT scan of the kidneys is designed to look for small (or large) stones that form in the kidneys and migrate into the ureters and bladder.

Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas, etc

Since the CT scan includes nearby structures, many of the internal organs of the abdomen and pelvis will also be seen and can be evaluated. This includes the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, bowel loops, prostate, and uterus for example.

Your CT scan for stones:

Keep in mind that a CT scan for stones is actually two separate tests done together: a CT scan of the Abdomen and CT scan of the Pelvis. The test is usually done without IV dye contrast.

A CT scan of the stones takes about 5 minutes or so to complete once you're on the table. If you are going for one, wear loose comfortable clothing. If you're insured, you may need to have your test authorized (approved) by your insurance company first. If you're uninsured and need to look up prices and buy an CT scan of of the Kidneys (KUB) for stones, you can use our website. Click here to see CT scan costs.

Have you had a CT scan for stones? What was it like? Please leave your comments below.

When we first launched our site we knew that gaining the trust and confidence of health care consumers would be an important on-going task. Having relevant, meaningful blog posts and keeping the site safe and secure have always been a top priority. One of the key leading certifications for health care websites is offered by the Health on the Net Foundation, based in Geneva Switzerland:

The Health On the Net Foundation (HON) promotes and guides the deployment of useful and reliable online health information, and its appropriate and efficient use. Created in 1995, HON is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, accredited to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. For twelve years, HON has focused on the essential question of the provision of health information to citizens, information that respects ethical standards. To cope with the unprecedented volume of health care information available on the Net, the HONcode of conduct offers a multi-stakeholder consensus on standards to protect citizens from misleading health information.

We recently received HON certification after satisfying all of the requirements of the HON code of ethics and principles. We're excited to announce our achievement and will display the HON code throughout our site. Of course, we won't stop here. We'll continue to look hard at our site and look for ways to grow your trust and confidence in us and make shopping for Radiology tests such as MRI scans, CT scans, Ultrasounds, X-rays easy and safe.

This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
verify here.

We're adding nearly 600 additional Radiology centers throughout the U.S to our site over the next few weeks. It is a monumental task so please pardon our mess as we upgrade and clean up bugs!

You'll be able to shop and buy your Radiology tests from over 1500 imaging facilities. Each Radiology facility is accredited by the ACR, features American Board of Radiology certified Radiologists and has undergone a rigorous selection process.

Trying to get MRI scan and cost of CT scans is challenging. Even when you have the information, it's not clear what exactly you might be paying for. Does the price include contrast? What about the Radiology report? And what if you need additional testing? This post will be a work in progress, but I hope it sheds some light on what MRI and CT scan costs include and don't include...

Prices vary by body part and medical condition

Most MRI and CT scan exams each have different prices. For example, an MRI of the Brain may not cost the same as an MRI of the Knee. Your test might also be two different tests bundled into one order. A CT scan to look for kidney stones is actually two scans - a CT scan of the Abdomen and a CT scan of the Pelvis.

Price will change if you are going to have contrast/dye

Pricing medical procedures using a multi-tier cost scheme is very common in medicine. For example, most MRI and CT scan be done in three different ways. This changes the cost of the scan.  In order of increasing cost they are:

• Without contrast - images are taken without administering any IV contrast/dye.
• With contrast - images are taken only after the IV contrast is given.
• With and without contrast - images are taken before the IV contrast is given and then again after wards.

Some facilities (particularly hospitals) will also charge for the actual performance of placing the IV. For uninsured patients this cost is usually bundled into the price of the rest of the scan as opposed to a separate charge.

Many CT scan exams are done with IV contrast. IV contrast for MRI scans is usually given if you have had surgery to the area begin scanned, history of cancer or if looking for infection. Even for those tests that are ordered without contrast, sometimes during the scan the Radiologist may see something "unusual" or detect a tumor or infection and then ask for the contrast to be given. 

Note, there is no additional cost if you get oral contrast to drink. That is, if you are given oral contrast for a CT scan of the Abdomen and do not receive the IV contrast it is considered a CT Scan of the Abdomen without contrast.

The Radiology report is included

MRI and CT scan costs include the official Radiologist interpretation. This includes comparing to older scans even if done at another hospital or imaging center. Your doctor receives a copy of the report.

Copies of the CD or films

Sometimes you'll be asked to take a CD or films of your MRI or CT scan to your doctor to review. Most facilities will give you a copy, if requested, free of charge.

Call back for additional images may not be included

You won't be charged for call backs if due to technical issues or if you were unable to complete the exam because of  pain or claustrophobia. However, if it is for "more testing", then yes, there will be additional costs.

Simplifying it for you...

As you can see it is hard to pin down the actual cost of an MRI or CT scan. Unfortunately, much of healthcare works this way.

We've taken a different approach with our Radiology shopping site and are trying to simplify MRI and CT scan prices for you. Our prices include the test and report. There are no extra charges for contrast/dye injections. We think this is a good first step in reforming how medical services are priced and purchased. We hope you do too. 

Do you have any suggestions for us? Please leave your comments below: