MRI Magnetic Resonance Imaging How the analytical chemistry or medical diagnosis application works Getting an MRI is a non-invasive method used to look at images inside an object. MRI’s are mainly used to observe pathological or physiological developments of living tissues. The patient simply lies on his or her back and slides onto the bore- the tube running through the magnet. An MRI’s job is to find tissue and determine what it is, by using radio wave pulses of energy. The MRI creates 2-D or 3-D images of each point in the patient’s body. The MRI system can cause tissues in the body to take on different appearances, which is helpful to radiologists who read it. It can also show flowing blood to help show the arterial system. The purpose of the application MRI is ideal for the following: Diagnosing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Diagnosing Tumors in the brain or pituitary gland Diagnosing Infections in the brain, spine, joints, etc. Seeing torn ligaments in the wrist, knees, ankles, etc. Visualizing shoulder injuries Evaluating masses in the soft tissues of the body Evaluating bone tumors or cists. Diagnosing strokes in the early stages MRI scanners do not use ionizing radiation, thus have very low risks of any side effects. An advantage of MRI scanners is that it can view images from any plane and angle How MRI scanners affects our way of life Today’s society is clearly active in sports, and also participates actively in vascular diseases, muscle disorders, and any bodily problem to that matter. In other words, people who receive MRI scans are not unique, since these scans are performed quite often due to problems with tissues in the body. This could be due to the intensity of playing sports, to simply getting older.... ... middle of paper ... ... spins are at high or low energy states. The coil can now send the messages to the computer. The signals will fade when individual spins contributing to the net magnetization loses their coherence. Figure 1: How MRI's Work Safety of MRI Although there have been no harmful effects in MRI scanning on the fetus this far, as a precaution, women who are pregnant are not allowed to undergo MRI scans unless absolutely necessary. The fetus may be harmed by the heat or the noise of the machine. If a patient is claustrophobic, it is strongly recommended to avoid this type of scanning, since it is typically not pleasant to lie in. It may be a long procedure so it is not recommended. People who have implants or foreign bodies (metal plates, breast enhancements, etc.) should not have an MRI done.
My interest in MRI started when I first read the book “MRI, The Basics” written by the author Ray Hashemi. By the time I successfully finished my MRI clinical placement in Tehran University of Medical Sciences, I knew for sure that MRI would be the field I would be choosing to take on. What attracts me most about MRI is how beautifully scientist could create a technology that can take advantage of the magnetic moments of human body for imaging it without any harms of ionizing radiation. Although there are drawbacks to MRI, combining it with other modalities would be a more effective approach to an accurate diagnosis.
What needs to be assessed is how these full body scans are produced. It is produced through radiation through computed tomography. And, is the amount of radiation that a patient is receiving necessary. Radiation exposure is harmful. According to the FDA website
Conventional MRI examination included axial and coronal spin-echo T1-weighted sequence, axial T2- weighted sequence, axial and coronal fat suppressed spin-echo T2-weighted sequence, and axial DWI, slice thickness, 4 mm; interslice gap, 1 mm; field of view, 50 cm2. DWIs were performed using three sets of b value (50, 400, and 800 s/mm2). All MRI images including diffusion-weighted image sequences were transferred to an independent workstation.
The MRI, on the other hand is less expensive and much safer (as it doesn’t expose the patient to potentially harmful radioactive chemicals). The MRI or magnetic resonance imaging device, as an safer alternative, applies a powerful magnetic field around the head of the patient.
After graduating with my Bachelor’s degree, I continued to work as a staff MRI technologist. Even though I loved what I did and had a passion helping people, the lack of diversity within radiology and its limited room for growth bothered me. I decided to look into furthering my career and found an interest in Health Information Technology. Upon researching many different schools through the country offering an online graduate Health Information Technology program, the University of Michigan in Dearborn stood out to me. Medicine and technology have both always been a part of my life, and I am very happy and excited that the chance for it to play a new part has finally arrived. I’m motivated to learn how I can combine the science of information with clinical knowledge so I can help to better patient care and
The role of the radiologist is one that has undergone numerous changes over the years and continues to evolve a rapid pace. Radiologists specialize in the diagnoses of disease through obtaining and interpreting medical images. There are a number of different devices and procedures at the disposal of a radiologist to aid him or her in these diagnoses’. Some images are obtained by using x-ray or other radioactive substances, others through the use of sound waves and the body’s natural magnetism. Another sector of radiology focuses on the treatment of certain diseases using radiation (RSNA). Due to vast clinical work and correlated studies, the radiologist may additionally sub-specialize in various areas. Some of these sub-specialties include breast imaging, cardiovascular, Computed Tomography (CT), diagnostic radiology, emergency, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), musculoskeletal, neuroradiology, nuclear medicine, pediatric radiology, radiobiology, and Ultrasound (Schenter). After spending a vast amount of time on research and going to internship at the hospital, I have come to realize that my passion in science has greatly intensified. Furthermore, both experiences helped to shape up my future goals more prominently than before, which is coupled with the fact that I have now established a profound interest in radiology, or rather nuclear medicine.
All in all, MRI is a great imaging modality to properly diagnose a patient. MRI has many advantages and does not use any type of radiation. Even though MRI has been around for about a century it has gained a lot of advancement in the image quality. MRI allows a wide variety of anatomy to be imaged such as soft tissue, spine work, and organs. Like any imaging modality MRI does have a couple of disadvantages, but the advantages out way the risks. MRI will continue to improve and will be one of the best imaging modalities in the medical field.
As a starting point in CT diagnostic imaging the form of radiation used to provide an image are x-rays photons , this can also be called an external radiation dose which detect a pathological condition of an organ or tissue and therefore it is more organ specific. However the physics process can be described as the radiation passes through the body it is received by a detector and then integrated by a computer to obtain a cross-sectional image (axial). In this case the ability of a CT scanner is to create only axial two dimensional images using a mathematical algorithm for image reconstruction. In contrast in RNI the main property for producing a diagnostic image involves the administration of small amounts of radiotracers or usually called radiopharmaceutical drugs to the patient by injection or oral. Radio meaning the emitted of gamma rays and pharmaceutical represents the compound to which a nuclide is bounded or attached. Unlike CT has the ability to give information about the physiological function of a body system. The radiopharmaceutical often referred to as a nuclide has the ability to emit ga...
To begin with, how has technology changed the field of radiology? Since the discovery of X-radiation there has been a need and desire for studying the human body and the diseases without actually any intervention. Over the past fifty years there has been a revolution in the field of radiology affecting medicine profoundly. “The ability to produce computers powerful enough to reconstruct accurate body images, yet small enough to fit comfortably in the radiology department, has been the major key to this progress”(Gerson 66). The core of radiology’s vast development consists of four diagnostic techniques: computed tomography (CT), digital subtraction angiography (DSA), ultrasonography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These methods of diagnostic imaging provide accurate information that was not seen before. Amid this information advancement, radiologists have broadened their role of diagnostician. Gerson writes, “With the advent of computer-enhanced imagery and new interventional techniques, these physicians are able to take an active part in performing therapeutic procedures”(66). A radiology breakthrough in 1972 was computed tomography discovered by Godfrey Hounsfield and Allan Cormack. Unlike standard radiography, computed tomography would spin the X-ray tube 360 degrees and inversely another 360 degrees while the patient ta...
Many of the experts agree that the dose should be kept as low as possible with minimal exposure to the fetus of any age. It has been shown that fetuses before 16 weeks are the most sensitive to any dose of ionizing radiation and have been shown to have lower IQ’s and verbal scores than those exposed after 16 weeks. Fetuses exposed after 16 weeks have the same amount of risk as children up to 10 years old getting cancer. It is very important to take in to consideration gestational age, shielding, the position of the x-ray tube and the amount of necessity that is considered in taking a radiographic image or performing a radiographic procedure in a pregnant woman.
Radioisotopes have helped create advanced imaging techniques. Beforehand, X rays could only provide so much information such as broken bones, abnormal growths, and locating foreign objects in the body. Now it is possible to obtain much more information from medical imaging. Not only can this advanced imaging give imaging of tiny structures in the body, but it can also provide details such as cancerous cells and damaged heart tissue from a heart...
Modern medicine is capable of treating a tremendous range of human disease and injuries, but the usefulness of all medical specialties depends on accurate diagnosis. Virtually every conceivable medical specialty relies on radiological technologies to provide formal diagnoses, making radiology one of the most important of all medical specialties. Radiologists enjoy some of the best working conditions in modern medicine and typically experience very positive employment conditions. Consequently, their services are generally in very high demand, with many starting out with six-figure annual incomes immediately after completion of their professional training.
There is also a high-resolution ultrasound scanning that can detect chromosomal and physical abnormalities in the first trimester as opposed to the second trimester. A technology such as this can create many ethical problems. Mcfadyen describes the biggest problem as being informed consent. “They may believe that it will provide information only about gestational age and be unaware of the range of abnormalities that can be detected. Recent research suggests that many women are not told beforehand of the first scan’s potential to detect fetal anomalies.”
CTscans stands for “Computed Tomography”. It is a way of looking inside your body using a special camera. It is an advanced scanning x-ray and computer system that makes detailed pictures of horizontal cross-sections of the body, or the part of the body that is x-rayed. A CT scan is a diagnostic test that combines the use of x-ray with computer technology. A series of x-beams from many different angles are used to get these cross-sectional images of the patient’s body. In a computer, these pictures are assembled into a 3-dimentianal picture that can display organs, tissues, bones, and any such thing. It can even show ducts, blood vessels and tumors. One of the advantages of CT is that it clearly shows soft tissue structures (such as brain), as well as dense tissue structure (such as bone). The pictures of a Ctscanner are a lot more detailed than the pictures of a regular X-ray machine. It can make pictures of areas protected or surrounded by bones, which a regular X-ray machine can not. Because of this, a CT scanner is said to be 100 times as affective and clever as an ordinary X-ray, and can therefore diagnose some diseases a lot earlier and quicker. It is recent technology that has made it possible to accurately scan objects into a computer in three dimensions, even though the machines and ideas were developed in the 1970s. In the 70s doctors started to use this new type of machine that could give detailed pictures of organs that the older type of x-ray, machine could not give.
Images of human anatomy have been around for more than 500 years now. From the sketches created by Leonardo da Vinci, to the modern day Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan, images have played a great role in medicine. Evolution in medical imaging brought together people from various disciplines such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, a collaboration which has further contributed to healthcare as a whole. Modern day imaging improves medical workflows by facilitating a non-invasive insight into human body, accurate and timely diagnostics, and persistence of an analysis.