The Scans Big Sky Does Not Offer, and Where They Fit
Most imaging companies tell you what they do. This page is the other list. These are the studies Big Sky Imaging does not provide, what each is actually for, and where it fits. If you landed here searching for one of them, you should be able to find that out in the first sentence about it rather than after three paragraphs of hedging.
MRI
We do not offer MRI. It is the right study for soft tissue questions that X-ray cannot answer, particularly the brain, spinal cord, ligaments, and cartilage. MRI scanners are fixed installations in shielded rooms, so no mobile service provides them. In Montana, MRI lives in hospital radiology departments and a handful of independent centers in the larger markets. We wrote a fuller guide at where to get an MRI in Montana.
CT
We do not offer CT. Computed tomography takes X-ray images from many angles and reconstructs them into cross sections, which makes it the workhorse for trauma, for the chest and abdomen, and for anything where a plain film is not enough detail. Like MRI it is installed equipment, and in Montana it is almost entirely a hospital service. If a provider has ordered CT, a hospital imaging department is the destination.
Mammography
We do not offer mammography or breast screening of any kind. Screening mammography runs on dedicated equipment with its own accreditation and quality requirements, and it belongs in a facility set up for it. Montana has hospital breast centers and dedicated women's imaging clinics that do this work. If you are due for a screening mammogram, those are the places, and a primary care provider can point to the nearest.
Bone density and DEXA
We do not currently offer DEXA. It measures bone mineral density and it is the standard test when osteoporosis is the question. It is widely available in Montana at hospital departments and outpatient centers. There is a longer explanation at bone density scans in Montana, including why we think the access gap here is a real one.
Elective 3D and 4D ultrasound
We do not offer keepsake or elective pregnancy ultrasound. Our ultrasound is diagnostic, performed on a provider's order, for a clinical question. Elective imaging studios are a separate category of business and several operate in Montana. If what you are looking for is keepsake imaging of a pregnancy, we are not the right call and we would rather say so early.
What we do offer
Four studies, brought to the patient rather than the other way around:
- X-ray, portable, for fractures and chest films, with same-day service standard in covered markets.
- Ultrasound, diagnostic, real time, no radiation.
- Echocardiogram, for cardiac structure and function.
- EKG, for cardiac rhythm and electrical activity.
Availability depends on the market. Missoula, Helena, Great Falls, Bozeman and Manhattan, and the Flathead Valley carry all four. Billings carries X-ray, ultrasound, and EKG. Cheyenne carries X-ray and EKG. The services and service area pages have the detail, and a call settles anything they do not.
Why we publish this
Because a referring provider who finds out mid-schedule that we do not do the study they ordered has lost a day, and a patient who was told to expect something we cannot deliver has lost more than that. Being specific about the boundary is cheaper for everyone than being vague about it. A provider order is required for every study we do perform, and this is how ordering works.