(MRI) Magnetic resonance imaging is a noninvasive medical examination or a test that uses potent magnets and their strong magnetic fields and radio waves that create a detailed picture and images of the internal body parts and organs of your body with the help of a computer. An MRI is a painless, noninvasive procedure and helps in avoiding the adverse impact of X-ray radiation on the patients. Magnetic resonance imaging technique uses out better images of the internal organs and different tissues inside the body than many other scanning techniques like x-ray and computer tomography.
Purpose of Magnetic Resonance Imaging:
The primary use of magnetic resonance imaging is to diagnose different diseases and any internal injury that a person has succumbed to and is also useful in letting the doctor know that how well the patient is responding to the line of treatment. It is instrumental and helpful in diagnosing and looking at soft tissues and the central nervous system.
MRI for Cancer:
MRI is found very helpful to doctors in diagnosing cancer. It helps the doctor to detect and look out for signs to which extent the disease has spread. By looking at the images of the diseased part of the infected region, the doctor plans for cancer treatment depending upon the stage to which the disease has been found.
MRI is found useful in finding cancers. A contrast dye is used to see the tumors of the brain and spinal cord. This may also prove to be beneficial in letting the doctor know whether the tumor is cancerous or not.
An MRI of the brain and spinal cord looks for,
Injury to the brain due to accident,
Brain tumors and cancer
Blood vessel damage
Multiple sclerosis
Injuries related to the spinal cord
Brain stroke
There is a special kind of MRI that maps the brain activity of the patient. It is known as a functional MRI. It detects the areas that become active when blood flows in the brain while doing specific tasks and also look out for problems like tumors, clots in the brain and epilepsy.
An MRI of the heart and blood vessels looks for blocked blood vessels, any problem in the heart, hole in the center, any damage caused by a heart attack, etc.
An MRI of the bones and joints looks for cancer cells in the bones, slip disc, bone infections, multiple fractures, cervical problems, problems related to joints, etc.
MRI imaging is also can be done to check the overall health of organs like breast and ovaries in women, prostate in males, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, kidney, liver, lungs, etc.
HOW TO GET READY FOR MRI:
- MRI is usually done on outpatients, which means that the patient doesn’t have to get admitted to the hospital or clinics.
- If you have claustrophobia, then it is better to inform your doctor about it so that he can give you some medicines to get relaxed.
- If there is metal on your body, then it may get attracted to the magnetic field. Inform your doctor if you have any metal devices like surgical clips, metal joints in bones, artificial heart valves and stents, tattoos, staple, screws, body piercing, dental implants, metal caps, etc.
- it is advisable not to enter the MRI scanning room or area until asked by the doctor or technologists if you have the individual implants like pacemaker or defibrillator, brain aneurysm clips metal inside the blood vessels, nerve stimulators or any ear implants.
- You should wear loose and comfortable clothes or a gown provided by the hospital or clinic staff.
- You should not carry your cell phone or any coins and watch inside the MRI room. Females should remove if they are wearing an under wired bra.
HOW THE TEST IS CARRIED OUT:
- The technician or the staff will ask you to change and put on the hospital gown, and you will be asked to remove jewelry, hair clips, or any other metal objects.
- You will be asked to lie down on a narrow and flat table of the MRI machine.
- After this, the table gets to slide into the machine.
- You will be left alone in the MRI room and will be asked by the technician to hold your breath for a while if needed.
- The machine makes loud thumping or tapping sound, which may irritate the patient. To avoid this sound, you may be provided with an earplug or a headphone.
It is usually seen that the duration of MRI scans is between 45 to 60 minutes, but in certain exceptional cases, it may take a more extended period than could be up to 2 hours.
POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS DURING THE PROCEDURE:
- The person may suffer from nauseated feelings and may develop a headache after a few hours of the test.
- At times people may panic or may feel uneasy inside the MRI machine.
- People may get hurt in MRI machines if they, by chance, bring any metal objects like credit and debit cards with metal strips.
- Overweight people may have a problem in getting inside the MRI machine.
WHO SHOULD AVOID MRI SCANNING:
It is said that pregnant females should avoid getting an MRI imaging done in the first trimester until and unless it is indispensable to check any abnormality of the fetus.
People who have permanent metal implants like pacemakers, cochlear implants, stents, etc. should avoid MRI scans.
People who are allergic to contrast dye should also avoid this test.
WHO IS AUTHORIZED TO READ THE RESULT:
A particular doctor who has a degree in radiotherapy is the authorized person to read the results and make a detailed report that is then sent to the concerned doctor. After this, your doctor will brief you about the announcement that he got from the radiologist and will discuss his treatment plan with you.
So, we have seen the critical aspects of MRI imaging and its contribution to the diagnosis of various diseases. MRI imaging is a very safe and sound procedure, and the patients also not exposed to radiations as in x-rays. The perfect and detailed images and pictures are taken of each part that is to be diagnosed, and that, in turn, helps the doctor to start the line of treatment. MRI imaging is a necessary test that is conducted on various patients to help them in knowing the stage and seriousness of their disease. The doctor who is treating the patient looks at the MRI scans and gets a detailed report of the problem and the illness and is in a better position to treat the patient with the correct line of treatment.