Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Fans of the popular television show ER watch physicians rely heavily on imaging service for seriously ill patients to understand what is really going on inside a person. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a method used by physicians to look inside the body.
Incorporating an advance technology, MRI produces images of the anatomy without the use of radiation, as in x-ray and CT scanning. MRI images are formed by a computer processing of signals that are emitted by body tissue. These signals are generated using a safe magnetic field in combination with radio waves of a specific frequency, similar to what is used in radios in your home and car.
MRI is a safe, painless and noninvasive exam. There are no preparations required for this exam. Some patients even fall asleep during the exam. Used for all parts of the body, MRI results in no known side or after effects.
MRI can help provide a quick and more accurate diagnosis for your physician. In some situations, this can reduce the need for exploratory surgery and other diagnostic procedures, which might have associated risk.
The procedure is effective in the clinical evaluation of the following conditions: brain disorders, traumatic injuries, eye abnormalities, spine diseases, tumor detection, liver and other abdominal diseases, knee and shoulder injuries, musculoskeletal disorders, facial/neck abnormalities, infection, cardiac malformations, and blood flow and vessel disorders.
Each weekend during football season, injuries occur which require athletes to undergo an MRI scan shortly afterward. An MRI scan can accurately determine whether an athlete who hurt his knee, for instance, had injured the menisci, ligaments and/or bone. In many cases, an MRI will provide an orthopedic surgeon with the information needed to recommend appropriate therapy.
Certain cases of epilepsy do not respond to medical therapy. Patients often have a structural abnormality, so a neurosurgeon can treat it effectively. Two-thirds of these patients' seizures can then be successfully controlled with medicine.
In 70 percent of cases, cancer affecting the bones of the spine is caused by the spread of a tumor from another site. The tumor can grow large enough to involve the spinal cord and cause paralysis. To diagnose this, an MRI can detect tumor involvement.
Today, physicians commonly order MRI exams to evaluate the brain, spine, joints (especially the knee) and soft tissues. Many other body parts can be evaluated with MRI as well.
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