How Does an MRI Work
Many injuries and diseases affect the internal organs, and doctors need a reliable way to diagnose the extent and effect of an illness. Scientists have developed many ways to diagnose diseases and detect injuries which doctors and surgeons use to aid them to a proper diagnosis and perform the right medical treatment. One of these tools is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
What is MRI?
Imaging is an important part of medical diagnosis. Imaging takes away much of the guesswork involved in determining the extent of illnesses and injuries that affect the internal organs. Many imaging techniques are used by physicians, including computerized tomography (CT scans), ultrasound, and radiography techniques like X-rays and fluoroscopes. MRI is an imaging tool primarily used by doctors and surgeons to detect injury, disease, and illness on the internal organs.
How MRI Works
The human body is composed of 75% water, which is composed of hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is composed of one proton and one electron. The goal of MRI is to harness the magnetic properties of atoms in the body to create an image that can clearly make distinctions between tissues and cells.
MRI creates images by using a magnetic field almost 60,000 times more powerful than that of the Earth. When the body enters the very powerful magnetic field the MRI scanner creates, the proton in the nucleus aligns itself with the magnetic field. During the process, the nuclei emit a radio frequency, which is transmitted and translated by the MRI machine as signals to create vivid images of the insides of the human body.
Unlike X-rays and flouoroscopy, MRI is very safe medical imaging technique. A few minutes of exposure to a powerful magnetic field is harmless, and MRI does not expose a patient to radiation or chemicals that may cause long-term damage in the long run. Most MRI diagnoses may also be covered by insurance or health plans, although the use and maintenance of MRI scanners can be very expensive.
Uses of MRI
Here are some of the uses of magnetic resonance imaging:
Diagnosis. MRI is a very reliable tool to determine and diagnose internal injuries, or diseases that affect the internal organs. The imaging technique is often used for trauma medicine and sports injuries. One of the most useful applications of MRI is to detect the cause and spread of many types of cancer.
Study. Instead of cadavers and dissection, MRI is now used by many students and medical professionals to analyze and study parts of the human body. The powerful magnetic field generated by MRI is also used by physicists and other scientists to study the effects and properties of very high magnetic fields.
MRI is a very useful tool for determining and diagnosing diseases that may have a long-term effect on your health and well-being. Thanks to MRI, much of the guesswork that comes with diagnosis made in internal medicine are minimized.