The catheter delivers a contrast agent or monitors physiological function. In fact, the upper GI series accounts for 42 percent of all fluoroscopy procedures. A patient drinks a chalky, milkshake-like concoction containing barium, which coats the esophagus and stomach. The barium absorbs the x-rays so that the lining of the upper digestive tract can be visualized. In a lower GI series, the patient receives a barium enema, which coats the intestines and rectum.
Fluoroscopy can help patients regain lost functions.
This type of analysis helps physicians and speech pathologists identify and instruct individual patients on new ways to produce some sounds. And at Tel Aviv University in Israel, a fluoroscopically-guided catheter is used to clear women's fallopian tubes of scar tissue that has been preventing conception. Some previously infertile patients have conceived within two months of treatment. Fluoroscopy can improve the safety of other procedures. For example, blindly probing a tumor to remove cells for examination, some surgeons believe, can actually spread the disease by introducing cancer cells into the bloodstream.