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Magnetic Resonance Imaging

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Magnetic Resonance

Imaging
The MRI Scanner
How does it work? The Basics
 Patient is bathed in a magnetic field 5000
times stronger than the earths
 This field causes some of the body’s nuclei to
behave like tiny compasses and line up
 Then the nuclei are hit by pulsing radio waves
 Once the pulses stop the nuclei go back to
their state induced by the magnet
 The energy now released by the nuclei acts
like miniature radio stations giving out a signal
 These radio waves are picked up by a
computer where they are translated into an
image.
What is so good about MRI?
 They have given doctors the chance to
detect cancers earlier than ever before
 They allow a view into the body without
surgery
 They are a non invasive way of
diagnosing diseases and conditions
 Gives a clearer set of images than CAT
scans do.
Contraindications
 The strength of the magnet is 5000 times
stronger than the earth
 So all metals must be removed!
 People with pacemakers cannot have a scan
 If you have any metal fragments in the eye
you cannot have a scan – it would rip the eye
open.
 These magnets are so powerful they could pull
a car in!
 There has not been enough research done on
babies and magnetism, so pregnant women
shouldn’t have one done before the 4th month
of pregnancy – unless it is highly necessary.
How it works – in depth
 The body is made of billions of atoms
 The nuclei spins on an axis, a bit like a spinning
top
 The atom that the MRI uses is the hydrogen
atom
 It has a single proton and is the most strongly
affected by the Magnetic field – it is more
likely to line up than other atoms
 Inside the magnetic field the protons are
lined up and ready to go..
 The MRI scanner now releases a Radio
Frequency that is only picked up by
hydrogen
 This RF makes the protons spin at a
particular frequency, in a particular
direction – This is the Resonance bit
 When the RF is turned off, the nuclei
start to lose the energy and return to
where they were in the magnetic field
 The coil now picks up that excess
energy and sends the signals to the
computer – which is the Imaging part of
the scan
How the image is made
 Often, patients are injected with a
contrast dye during the scan
 The dye will reach different tissues at
different rates
 The image being sent back to the
computer will have different strengths
depending on the level of contrast dye
in the tissues
The Uses of the MRI
 Diagnosing: MS; strokes; infections of
the brain/spine/CNS; tendonitis
 Visualising: Injuries; torn ligaments –
especially in areas difficult to see like
the wrist, ankle or knee
 Evaluating: Masses in soft tissue; cysts;
bone tumours or disc problems.
The Future of MRI
 MRI research is ever changing.
 Smaller, lighter machines are always been
developed.
 Work is on going to develop area specific
machines to scan small areas like feet, arms,
hands.
 Ventilation dynamic research is being tested
with Helium to examine lung function
 Brain mapping is having and will continue to
grow and give us a better image of how the
brain works than ever before
A real advantage in choice
 The MRI does not
use ionizing
radiation, which is
a comfort to
patients
 Also the contrast
dye has a very low
chance of side
effects
 ‘Slice’ images can
be taken on many
planes
And the disadvantages?
 Claustrophobia. Patients are in a very enclosed
space.
 Weight and size. There are limitations to how
big a patient can be.
 Noise. The scanner is very noisy.
 Keeping still. Patients have to keep very still for
extended periods of time.
 Cost. A scanner is very, very expensive,
therefore scanning is also costly.
 Medical Contraindications. Pacemakers, metal
objects in body etc.

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