The preparation that you need for a radiology scan to diagnose an issue will depend on the kind of scan that you’re going to have done. If the diagnostic radiology Middletown scan is a CT, then you will usually be asked to drink water beforehand so that various areas of your body will show up clearer. At times, you might receive an IV contrast before the scan so that the doctor can determine if there are any blood vessels that are leaking or if there are any clots in your vascular system. Let the technician know if you’re pregnant or could be pregnant or if you are breastfeeding.

An MRI is a similar scan and doesn’t require a lot of preparation unless you’re receiving medications beforehand. You can’t wear anything metallic in the machine and should let the technician know if you have any pieces of metal in your body. You also need to let the technician know if you have tattoos as the ink can be pulled from them by the magnet in the machine.

A PET scan is a bit different from these scans in that you shouldn’t eat or drink anything for a few hours before your appointment. You will usually be injected with a certain kind of dye before the scan is performed. Sometimes, your doctor will want a normal scan before the dye is injected in order to see if there are any differences. You could spend about an hour in the exam room while the scan is being performed. This is often more detailed than an MRI or a CT scan and can reveal more issues that might be present. For an ultrasound, there’s usually no preparation at all as there’s no magnetic imaging involved. This type of scan is similar to an X-ray but is performed with a small wand that is moved across the area that is examined.