What are the different types of hospital scans you can have and the challenges in translation of hospital scan results

As a medical translator, I am often led to translate multiple hospital scan results. Working your way through the difficult minefield of often complex and daunting medical terminology can be hard, but it is essential, as a professional translator, to understand the different types of medical scans. Patients will often send me French scan results which need to be translated accurately into English to be handed to their medical practitioners in the UK or the US for continued medical treatment.

To make life easier – and less daunting – it is best to understand the different types of hospital scan and why they might be performed.

X-rays

X-rays are probably the most common and easy to understand. Most of us will have had an x-ray in hospital or in a dental surgery to check if we have broken a bone or have any issues with our wisdom teeth for instance.

X-rays use radiation and are ideal for viewing hard structures within the body as the radiation passes through soft tissue and is absorbed by the harder structures such as your bones. The final image will allow medical practitioners to have a clear view to bones. However, x-rays do not provide a great deal of finer detail.

Sometimes x-rays are also often used to produce an initial image of your chest and lungs before then moving on to a CT scan if needed.

CT scans

A CT scan is an acronym for a Computed Tomography scan. CT scans are considered to be a step up from an X-ray as they use multiple x-rays from a range of different perspectives and angles to help create a more detailed and enhanced image of the body.

CT scans can be used across a variety of parts of the body depending on the condition and will, as mentioned above, be used to provide a clearer picture for medical practitioners for certain conditions.

CT scans seem a little more daunting because you would typically be passed through a doughnut-shaped scanner and they last longer than a typical x-ray due to the need for greater detail.

On occasions patients will first be administered a contrast dye product by injection or as a liquid to drink. This allows certain parts of the body to be illuminated during the scan to help with diagnostics.

MRI scans

An MRI scan is another medical acronym which stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Unlike x-rays and CT scans, MRI scans rely on magnetic fields and radio waves rather than radiation.

MRI scans offer a very high level of visibility within the body and, unlike x-rays, produce detailed images of softer tissue structures.

MRI scans are typically longer and a little more daunting for patients due to the fact the scanner is much longer and can sometimes lead to a feeling of being enclosed. Typically, patients are given headphones to drown out the noise of the scanner and also to be able to communicate with the practitioner.

MRI scans last a little longer than an x-ray or CT scan and, similar to a CT scan, some patients may be administered a contrast dye immediately before the scan.

Ultrasound scans

Ultrasound scans are relatively well known due to their use to help with pregnancy check-ups. However, they can be used for a range of other diagnostics.

An ultrasound uses sound waves to help create images within the body. Whilst the images lack the detail of the previous scans, they do not involve any radiation, are quick and allow immediate visualisation of what is happening.

The practitioner will typically apply a gel to the probe or body part which can be a little cold, but aside that they are painless.

PET scans

A PET scan is yet another medical acronym standing for Positron Emission Tomography. Sounds complex, doesn’t it? The purpose of a PET scan is to view activity within the body at all levels, rather than simply producing an image like other types of scans.

Before a PET scan, patients will typically be injected with a radiation-emitting substance to help view the build-up of energy for interpretation of the image results. This is typically used in the diagnosis of cancers.

The challenge of translating hospital scan results

As you can see, each of the main scan types conducted in a hospital will be used for specific diagnostic and monitoring purposes. As a medical translator, it is essential to be au fait with the various types of scans, the terminology used and the way that results are reported.

Furthermore, the results are often reported in different ways and using different terminology from one country to the next. Recognising and understanding the way that scan results are interpreted and reported forms an essential part of the role of medical translator.

When do you need a translation of medical scan results?

Exactly when you would need to request a translation of medical scan results will, of course, depend on your particular case. To give an example of when I have been asked to translate scan results will help you to know why I am often needed.

Recently I have been involved in the translation of PET scan and biopsy results for someone who lives in France after a cancer diagnosis. The person in question was a US native and was returning home to receive a second medical opinion regarding the diagnosis. In order to qualify for a second opinion, the medical team in the USA needed a certified translation of all French medical scan results and practitioner notes.

If you have ever been to hospital in France or a French-speaking country and need an official translation of your medical records, scan results or any other complex medical documentation for use in the UK or the US, then get in touch. Our French medical translations are accurate and affordable.