Since its first use in the 1960s, the laser has regularly been used during surgery because of its precision, swiftness and ability to leave minimal scarring.

Laser surgery is used for a number of different surgeries but largely focuses on three general areas.

• Isolating and destroying tumours: obviously this makes the laser the ideal instrument in fighting cancer and has saved many lives since its first use.
• Cutting away or destroying diseased, damaged or irregular tissue without damaging nearby healthy tissue: this process is often used for cosmetic or restorative surgery following burns and has also recently been used as a snoring treatment.
• Seal (cauterise) faulty blood vessels to stop bleeding: this method is often used for varicose veins treatment, which occurs when the valves in the veins that stop blood flowing backwards stop working efficiently.

Because of the versatile nature of the laser during surgery, it has come to be used in a number of different types of operations, both individually, with the laser being the only instrument used, or at the same time as other traditional surgical instruments.

Laser Eye Surgery

Eye surgery is one of the most popular and common uses for the laser and was one of the first operations to use the laser, due to the ease at which the surgeon could see and direct the path of the laser in the eye.

The surgery is remarkably simple and can be done in as little as 15 minutes and can often result in 20/20 vision.

Removal of Cancerous Tissue

Another common use of the laser is to remove potentially cancerous tissue and tumours from the body.

When used against cancer, lasers are commonly used at the early stages of the illness, as well as against cancers and tumours on the surface of the body or on the lining of internal organs.

As well as being directly used against cancer, lasers are often used to accompany other treatments, such as chemotherapy. Lasers are also used indirectly when helping to ease pain after surgery and limit the spread of the tumour.

As well as the number of uses noted here, laser surgery is used in many forms of surgery, either directly helping to cure the patient or assisting indirectly. The many roles laser can take part in during surgery make it a very useful tool and something scientists will be looking to capitalise on further in the future.

The nurses have a number of different functions throughout the hospital with initial assessment being one as well as general care. The radiographers then provide diagnostic help using a number of different high tech machines including x-rays, MRI and CT Scans. The doctors then use this information to diagnose and arrange treatment. The type of treatment and who performs it will depend on what the condition is. In some case they will need surgery where as others will need nothing more than their arm in plaster.

The key thing to remember is that no one person can do everything which is why they have different roles within a hospital. Each one is important in their own ways whether it is the nurses, the radiographers or the doctors. Without just one of these the hospital would not work well missing important skill sets which would only result in the patients suffering.

To enable both the diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers to train the correct skills they need to decide which they wish to train for at the beginning of their university course. This enables them to not only study the exact correct skills but also to get experience in the right areas as they will spend half their time in real hospital doing real jobs.  

On top of the theory side of any university course the radiographers also need to know how to use some very complex expensive pieces of technology that are far from simple. If that isn’t enough they then need to know how to use the results of that machine. For example they need to know what the x-ray is telling them once they have taken it.

So as you can see a radiographer needs far more than just your average health professional. They need to know the human body, the technology and the skills to bring them together and interpret the results.

Firstly radiographers prepare patients before taking x-rays and interpreting the x-rays to make the diagnosis. They can also form a treatment plan working closely with other health professionals including doctors. Radiographers set up and use the x-ray equipment working with technicians to make sure the work is done correctly. After all x-rays need to be taken in the right way allowing the diagnosis to take place; cracked or fractured bones are not always easy to see.

On top of x-rays radiographers also do MRI scans, which take a picture of the body’s tissue, an ultrasound which checks the hearts circulation and a CT scan which takes creates cross section of the body to be viewed later by doctors. These can then be viewed side by side in order to help create a picture of the body.

Diagnosis radiographers are a vital part of any hospital providing excellent diagnostic work to ensure that patients can be treated in the most effective way possible. Simply put you need to diagnose correctly in order to treat well.

If you are involved in an accident the chances are you will come across radiographers at hospital with the most common treatment being the x-ray. You may also have one of the other treatments performed by a radiographer being a CT scan, MRI scan, Ultrasound or Fluoroscopy. A radiographer will perform all of these as and when you need them.

Therapeutic radiographers will also be the person who will treat cancer with radiation if that is the treatment recommended by the doctor in charge. They really do perform a number of important treatments making them an important part of not only the NHS but health services in general.

So while nobody hopes to go to hospital at least you know that if you do end up there you will be in the hands of a highly trained group of radiographers. They are trained to the very highest standards with intimate knowledge of the human body allowing them to treat you to an amazing level.

Radiographers are highly trained and are intimately familiar with the anatomy, physiology and pathology giving them expert knowledge of the human body. The knowledge of the human body is the foundations to everything they do. Without it they couldn’t diagnose the conditions that they do.

On top of that a radiographer has to learn the workings of a number of high tech pieces of technology that they use to scan the body. For example an x-ray machine or a ultrasound machine. Using the results together with their knowledge of the human body allows them to diagnose successfully.

So while you often here about doctors, nurses and paramedics next time you think about the health service do not forget the radiographers who like all the other members of the health service are highly trained and offer an amazing service combining years of training in both the human body and technology to help us all when things go wrong.

One subsidiary of the society is the college of radiographers who work to serve the good of the public. Its roles are to help towards education, research and any other activities to help progress radiography in the UK and around the world.

The Society and college of radiographers help to work on the healthcare agenda with a view on a number of professional issues they are involved in. They work on new ways to work as well as helping to set the standards that all radiographers work to. They work to ensure that the very highest standards are met to ensure the best for radiographers and patients alike.

So next time you need treatment involving a radiographer you can be sure that the society of radiographers have worked to ensure that the standards and ethics are of the very best standard.

Both of these types of radiographers are highly trained with a high level of knowledge about the human body. Their training includes anatomy, physiology and pathology making them highly knowledgeable and capable of doing their job. They are also trained in how to use the range of equipment they use for their job; some of which is quite complex.

There is a very clear difference between the two types of radiographers. The therapeutic radiographers perform treatments with one of the most common being the treatment of cancer through radiotherapy. The diagnostic radiographers on the other hand specialise in diagnosing problems using things such as x-rays, CT Scans, MRI scans and ultrasound.

The radiographer has become a vital part of our health service offering a number of services for both the diagnostic and treatment of a variety of conditions. Without them the hospital as we know it would not work. Long may their good work continue!

Radiographers can do two types of work. There are the therapeutic radiographers who treat people such as with radiotherapy when they have cancer. I however saw a diagnostic radiographer whose job it is diagnose through a variety of ways. In my case it was the good old x-ray but it can be a MRI scan, CT scan or an ultrasound depending on the situation.

With my situation where I may or may not have a fractured or broken arm it was the x-ray which was performed by a couple of radiographers; one of which was in training. They took a few x-rays with my arm in a variety of positions; not always easy when your in that level of pain. They did however get the job done.

So if you do ever have the misfortune to break a limp you will no doubt end up in hospital initially at the hands of radiographers who will assess the injury with x-rays giving you the treatment you then need for that particular problem.