The phrase "alternative investigation" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when referring to a different method or approach to conducting an inquiry or examination of a subject or issue.
Example: "The researchers decided to pursue an alternative investigation to explore the effects of the new drug on a different demographic."
Alternatives: "alternative inquiry" or "alternative examination".
The value of alternative investigation without the use of radiation.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been proposed as an alternative investigation for patients with low back pain [ 21].
An alternative investigation (as in all situations when renal biopsy is contra-indicated) was therefore required in our patient if treatment was not to be purely empirical.
At 33 weeks gestation and with renal biopsy contraindicated [ 1, 2], an alternative investigation was sought to identify the underlying pathology with the potential for prompt response to treatment.
An alternative investigation in mice overexpressing cardiac LXRα revealed that the elevated capacity for myocardial glucose uptake is sustained despite obesity-induced systemic insulin resistance and hypertriglyceridemia (Cannon et al., unpublished data), stimuli that impede the capacity for glucose uptake.
In a post hoc review of this question it became apparent that some experts were simply not aware that the diagnostic accuracy of a ventilation-perfusion scan is lower in the presence of the specified abnormality on chest Xray, and that the alternative investigation of a spiral contrast CT scan was then the local gold standard in that situation.
A white paper of the European Society of Radiology [26] in line with the European MED Directive [27] emphasises that undergraduate and graduate students need to acquire a broader and deeper understanding of the hazards of radiation, patients' protection, awareness of which tests deliver a larger absorbed radiation dose, the value of alternative investigations without the use of radiation, etc.
Now that Saudi Arabia says its primary work on the matter is done ― even as its inquiry continues to tackle questions like the whereabouts Khashoggi's remains, which, according to a Saudi official citing the suspects, were disposed of by a local collaborator in Turkey ― it seems like an even better time for the many potential alternative investigations that experts have proposed.
Therefore, the viability of CTC as a primary screening investigation is likely to turn on other factors, such as cost-effectiveness and whether the ability to detect extracolonic disease (impossible with alternative investigations) is ultimately beneficial or not.
Colonoscopy is the default follow-up investigation in the BCSP, but alternative investigations, such as CT colonography (CTC), flexible sigmoidoscopy or rarely, barium enema, are offered if colonoscopy is deemed unsuitable.
It gives health workers a valuable adjunct in the assessment of the clinical state of an infant in resource poor settings where the capacity for alternative investigations is extremely limited.
