Imaging Guides and Resources
Understand what to expect before, during and after your medical imaging appointment.
Every guide follows the same path
- 1. The basicsWhat this scan is, and why a doctor asks for one.
- 2. Before you goGetting ready, and what the clinic needs to know about you.
- 3. On the dayWhat actually happens, from walking in to walking out.
- 4. AfterwardsYour results, and what to do next.
- 5. Referrals and costHow a scan is arranged, and what you might pay.
Each guide opens with the short answers — how long it takes, whether you can eat, whether there is an injection — so you can find what you came for without reading the whole page.
Scan guides
MRI Scan: What to Expect and How to Prepare
A practical guide to MRI preparation, safety screening, contrast, referrals and what to expect during your appointment.
CT Scan: What to Expect and How to Prepare
A practical guide to CT preparation, contrast, radiation, referrals and what to expect during your appointment.
X-Ray: What to Expect and How to Prepare
A plain-language guide to having an X-ray in Australia — preparation, radiation, what happens on the day, results and costs.
Ultrasound: What to Expect and How to Prepare
A plain-language guide to having an ultrasound in Australia — preparation by scan type, internal scans, what happens on the day, results and costs.
Mammogram: What to Expect and How to Prepare
A plain-language guide to having a mammogram in Australia — screening versus diagnostic, compression, preparation, results and costs.
Bone Density Scan (DEXA): What to Expect and How to Prepare
A plain-language guide to having a bone density (DEXA) scan in Australia — preparation, what happens on the day, what the result means, and costs.
PET Scan: What to Expect and How to Prepare
A plain-language guide to having a PET or PET-CT scan in Australia — the tracer, fasting, the long quiet wait, radiation, results and costs.