Every scan we perform

A detailed scan of the brain using a magnetic field — no X-rays at all. Shows stroke, tumour, infection, multiple sclerosis, and the cause of headache, fits or weakness.

Nothing special. Eat and drink normally and take your usual medicines. Remove all metal — jewellery, watch, hairpins, hearing aid, dentures. Tell us if you have a pacemaker, cochlear implant, aneurysm clip or any metal inside your body.

20 – 25 minutes. You must lie still. The machine is loud and we give you earplugs.

Same day. Urgent cases within 2 hours.

Images the spinal bones, the discs between them and the spinal cord itself. The usual study for back or neck pain, sciatica, numbness and weakness in the arms or legs.

No fasting. Empty your pockets and remove belts and metal items. Tell us if you have had spine surgery or have any implant, and bring the operation notes if you can.

15 – 20 minutes for one region. A whole-spine screen takes about 30 minutes.

Same day.

The most sensitive breast study there is. Used to work out how far a known cancer extends, to screen women at high risk, and to answer a question the mammogram and ultrasound could not settle.

If you still have periods, book between day 7 and day 14 of your cycle. Contrast is given, so come after 4 hours of fasting with a recent creatinine report. Bring all previous mammograms and ultrasound films. You lie face down for this scan.

30 – 40 minutes.

Same day, with a BI-RADS category and a clear next step.

The uterus, ovaries, prostate and rectum. Used for fibroids, endometriosis, ovarian cysts, staging of cancers of the womb or cervix, and multiparametric prostate MRI reported to PI-RADS.

Come after 4 hours of fasting with a moderately full bladder. For a prostate study, avoid ejaculation for 3 days before and tell us the date of any recent biopsy — we prefer to wait 6 weeks after one.

30 – 40 minutes for a prostate study, 25 minutes otherwise.

Same day.

Joints, ligaments, cartilage, tendons and muscle. The standard study for a torn meniscus or cruciate ligament, a rotator cuff tear, hip impingement and unexplained joint pain. Cartilage mapping shows early wear before it is visible any other way.

No fasting. Wear loose clothes without metal. Tell us about any plate, screw, nail or joint replacement — most are safe, but we need to know which one and where.

15 – 20 minutes for one joint.

Same day.

Head to thigh in one sitting, without a single X-ray. Used to search the whole skeleton and organs for spread of cancer, and in myeloma. Whole-body diffusion picks up deposits that a bone scan can miss.

Come after 4 hours of fasting. Bring every previous scan and report you have — this study is most useful when it can be compared. Allow a longer appointment.

45 – 60 minutes.

Same day.

Maps arteries and veins without a catheter and without X-rays. Brain and neck vessels, the aorta, the leg run-off, and limb or pelvic veins for suspected clot.

Some studies need a contrast injection — for those, come after 4 hours of fasting with a recent creatinine report. Brain and neck angiography usually needs no injection at all.

25 – 35 minutes.

Same day.

The fastest way to look inside the head. In a stroke, a head injury or a sudden severe headache it shows bleeding, swelling and fracture within seconds of the scan finishing.

Nothing at all for a plain scan — you can walk in at any hour. Remove earrings, hairpins and spectacles. If contrast is needed, come after 4 hours of fasting with a recent creatinine report.

Under a minute inside the scanner. About 10 minutes in the room altogether.

Emergencies within the hour, at any time of night. Routine studies the same day.

Thin slices through the sinuses, the facial bones, the eye socket and the temporal bone. For long-standing blocked nose and sinusitis before surgery, facial fractures, and hearing loss or discharge from the ear.

None for a plain study. Remove spectacles, earrings, nose pins and any removable denture. Bring your ENT surgeon's note — it tells us how fine a slice to take.

Under a minute.

Same day, usually within 2 hours.

A high-detail CT of the lungs taken in very thin slices. For a long-standing cough, breathlessness, suspected fibrosis or tuberculosis, and the after-effects of infection. Low-dose screening is available for long-term smokers.

None. A plain HRCT needs no injection. Wear clothes without metal buttons or zips, and remove any chain. You will be asked to take a deep breath and hold it.

Under a minute inside the scanner; about 10 minutes in the room altogether.

Same day, usually within 2 hours.

The bone rebuilt in three dimensions, so a surgeon can turn it on screen and see exactly how a fracture lies before operating. We can also supply the data as a 3D-printable file.

No preparation. Tell us if the limb is in a plaster cast — we can still scan through it. Bring the plain X-Ray if one has already been taken.

Under a minute to scan; the 3D rebuilding takes another 15 minutes.

Same day, with films and a CD for your surgeon.

A dye injection with the scan running, so every artery fills and is mapped. Used for blocked leg arteries, aneurysm, suspected clot in the lung, and narrowing of the neck vessels before a stroke happens.

Come after 4 hours of fasting with a recent serum creatinine report. Tell us about any allergy to iodine or contrast, asthma, kidney disease, or if you take metformin — it usually has to be stopped for two days afterwards, on your doctor's advice.

About 15 minutes in the room, plus 20 minutes afterwards for the vessel reconstruction.

Same day. Emergencies within the hour.

Liver, pancreas, kidneys, bowel and the urinary tract. CT KUB finds a stone in minutes with no preparation at all; the triple-phase study is for characterising a liver lesion.

CT KUB needs nothing — walk in. For every contrast study come after 4 hours of fasting with a recent creatinine report, and bring previous ultrasound or CT films so we can compare.

CT KUB under a minute. A triple-phase study takes about 20 minutes because we scan three times as the dye moves.

Same day.

Shows the bone of the spine in far more detail than an X-Ray — fractures, slipped vertebrae, and the exact state of the bone before spinal surgery or after a fall.

No preparation. Remove belts and anything metal from your pockets. If you have had spine surgery, bring the operation notes and the implant details.

Under a minute.

Same day.

Sound waves, no radiation at all — safe to repeat as often as needed. Covers the abdomen, kidneys, prostate, thyroid, scrotum, soft-tissue lumps and the appendix. Every scan here is done by Dr. Mate himself.

For the abdomen, come after 6 hours of fasting. For the kidneys, bladder or prostate, drink 3 to 4 glasses of water an hour before and do not pass urine. A thyroid, scrotum or lump scan needs no preparation at all.

10 – 20 minutes.

Handed to you immediately after the scan, and explained by Dr. Mate himself.

Everything from the first dating scan to the detailed 18–22 week survey of the baby's brain, spine, heart, kidneys, face and limbs — plus growth, fluid, the placenta and cervical length. Dr. Mate is Fetal Medicine Foundation UK certified.

No fasting — eat normally. Bring your antenatal card, the date of your last period, and every previous scan report. Allow extra time: if the baby is lying awkwardly we may ask you to walk for ten minutes and come back. One relative may sit with you.

An anomaly scan takes 30 to 45 minutes. A growth or Doppler scan takes about 20.

Immediately after the scan — Dr. Mate explains the findings himself. Form F is completed as the law requires. We do not reveal the sex of the baby under any circumstances.

Shows blood moving and measures how fast. For leg swelling and suspected clot, varicose veins, narrowed neck arteries, kidney and liver blood flow, and checking a dialysis fistula before and after surgery.

For a leg, arm or neck study, nothing at all. For kidney or liver Doppler, come after 6 hours of fasting. Wear loose clothing that rolls up easily.

20 – 30 minutes. Both legs take longer than one.

Immediately after the scan.

A low-dose X-Ray of the breast, and the only test proven to find cancer before it can be felt. Screening for women with no symptoms, diagnostic views for a lump or discharge, and stereotactic biopsy on the same machine when something needs sampling.

If you still have periods, book in the week after your period ends — the breasts are least tender then. Do not use talcum powder, deodorant, perfume or cream on the chest or underarms that day. Bring every previous mammogram and film: comparison is what makes a small change visible. Wear a two-piece outfit. A female attendant is present throughout.

10 – 15 minutes. The breast is pressed firmly for a few seconds at a time — uncomfortable rather than painful, and quickly over.

Same day, with a BI-RADS category and a clear next step. Available 24 hours.

The most-requested X-Ray there is. Shows the lungs, heart size and the ribs — for cough, fever, breathlessness, chest pain, and before surgery or a job medical.

Nothing. Remove chains, lockets and anything in your shirt pocket. You stand against the plate, take a deep breath and hold it. Tell the technician before the exposure if you may be pregnant.

Two minutes.

Same visit, in most cases. Digital, so the image is on screen before you have left the room.

Skull, sinuses, nasal bones, jaw and the soft tissue of the neck. Used after a facial injury, for a blocked nose, and in a child with noisy breathing or a swallowed foreign body.

None. Remove earrings, nose pins, spectacles, hairpins and any removable denture. For sinus views you will be asked to sit upright with your chin raised.

Three to five minutes.

Same visit.

Shoulder, collarbone, arm, elbow, forearm, wrist and hand. Mostly after a fall or an injury, and for arthritis. The scaphoid view is taken separately because that small wrist bone hides on an ordinary film.

None. Remove rings, bangles, watch and any plaster if your doctor has said it can come off — otherwise we scan through it. Tell us which side hurts; we always take the other side too if a comparison helps.

Two to five minutes.

Same visit.

Thigh, knee, leg, ankle, foot and heel. The weight-bearing knee film is taken standing, not lying down — that is how orthopaedic surgeons grade arthritis, and a supine film will usually be sent back.

None. Wear something that rolls up above the knee, or a loose skirt. For the standing knee film you will be asked to put equal weight on both legs — tell us if that is painful and we will support you.

Three to five minutes. A full-length standing lower limb film takes about ten.

Same visit.

Neck, mid-back, lower back, sacrum, the sacroiliac joints and the hips. Flexion and extension views are taken bending forward and back, to show whether a vertebra slips when you move.

For the lower back the bowel should ideally be empty — your doctor may advise a laxative the night before. Remove belts, trouser studs and anything in your pockets. Tell us before the film if you may be pregnant.

Five minutes. Flexion and extension views take about ten.

Same visit.

One wide picture showing every upper and lower tooth, both jaws and both jaw joints together. Standard before an extraction, before braces, and before an implant. Periapical and occlusal views cover a single tooth in close detail.

Remove earrings, nose pin, chains, spectacles, hairpins and any removable denture. Nothing else — no fasting. Carry your dentist's referral slip.

Under a minute. You stand still and the machine moves around your head.

Film and report within 15 minutes.

The films an orthodontist needs before starting treatment — cephalograms to measure jaw relationships, 3D cephalometric analysis from the CBCT, and a hand-wrist film that tells you how much growth is left.

No preparation. Remove all metal from the head. For a hand-wrist film, bring the child's date of birth — the reading is compared against it. Carry the orthodontist's tracing sheet if they have given you one.

Under a minute each.

Same visit, with the tracing measurements where they have been requested.

A needle placed while the ultrasound is running, so it reaches the right spot without an operation. Biopsy and FNAC of liver, kidney, breast, thyroid and lymph node; draining fluid from the chest or abdomen; abscess drainage; nephrostomy; and cyst aspiration.

Come after 6 hours of fasting. A recent PT/INR and platelet count is required before any biopsy or drainage. Tell us if you take aspirin, clopidogrel, warfarin or any blood thinner — these usually have to be stopped first, but only on your treating doctor's advice, never on your own. Bring a relative; you should not drive yourself home.

20 – 45 minutes, then a short period of observation here before you go home. Local anaesthetic is given first, so you feel pressure rather than pain.

The imaging report the same day. Biopsy and FNAC samples go to the pathology lab of your choice, and that report comes on the lab's own timeline — usually two to four days.

When the target is deep, behind bone or inside the lung, CT guidance places the needle where ultrasound cannot see. Lung and bone biopsy, cisternography, dacryocystography, and the CT versions of colonoscopy and bronchoscopy.

The same fasting and blood-thinner rules as an ultrasound-guided procedure, plus a recent chest film and lung function report for a lung biopsy. Written consent is taken and the whole procedure is explained to you before anything begins.

30 – 45 minutes, followed by a longer period of observation after a lung biopsy.

The imaging report the same day; the pathology report on the lab's timeline.

Contrast studies done under live X-Ray — HSG for the fallopian tubes, MCU and urethrography for the bladder and urethra, IVP for the kidneys, barium studies for the food pipe, stomach and bowel, and fistulography.

Barium studies need overnight fasting, so book a day ahead. HSG is done between day 7 and day 11 of your cycle, after bleeding has stopped and before ovulation — and you must not be pregnant. A female attendant is present throughout. Bring your referring doctor's note.

20 – 40 minutes depending on the study. A barium follow-through takes longer because films are taken as the barium moves.

Same day.

Injections placed under live ultrasound, so the drug goes exactly where it is needed instead of near it. Joint injection and aspiration, hydrodilatation for a frozen shoulder, barbotage for calcific tendinitis, PRP, plantar fascia and tendon sheath injections, and nerve root, facet joint and epidural blocks.

No fasting for most injections. Bring your MRI or X-Ray films — the injection is planned from them. Tell us about any blood thinner, and about diabetes, because a steroid injection can raise your sugar for a day or two. Arrange for someone to drive you home after a spine injection.

15 – 30 minutes. Most people walk out and go home the same hour.

A note of what was injected and where, the same day, for your orthopaedic surgeon or pain physician.