Final answer:
Continuous rotation scanners enabled helical imaging by providing CT and CAT scans that continually revolve around the patient. This technique enhances digital data processing, improving medical diagnostics with 3D imaging, unlike SPECT's lower resolution but higher contrast, and MRI's non-ionizing imaging method.
Step-by-step explanation:
Continuous rotation scanners made helical imaging possible by allowing a CT or CAT scan to continuously rotate around the patient's body. This evolution in scanning technology improved the efficiency of digital data collection and processing, enabling the construction of three-dimensional images of internal body structures. These scans use X-ray radiation to create detailed cross-sectional images, which are then interpreted by computers to form a composite 3D representation, vastly improving diagnostics in medicine.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), on the other hand, employs superconducting magnets to generate detailed images without exposing patients to ionizing radiation. In MRI scanners, the position of the scanner does not change; instead, it captures sequential images based on signal changes within the body that occur due to the movement of hydrogen atoms within a strong magnetic field. It is worth noting that Single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT), which uses nuclear activity to form images, offers increased contrast despite lower spatial resolution compared to MRI or CT scans.