What is mri scan and how is it performed
The MRI is a diagnostic test that allows you to view the inside of the human body by exposing it only to harmless magnetic fields.
Virtually free of side effects and with very few contraindications , MRI provides clear and detailed three-dimensional images of so-called soft tissues and so-called hard tissues; this makes it a test of absolute relevance in numerous fields of medicine: from traumatology to oncology , passing through orthopedics, gastroenterology, cardiology, etc.
The only limit of magnetic resonance is the high cost of the equipment, necessary for the creation of magnetic fields for the observation of the human body, and the maintenance costs of the aforementioned equipment mri scan in Sparta.
Definition of Magnetic Resonance
The MRI is a diagnostic technique that uses magnetic fields produced by a large magnet to create detailed three-dimensional images of the anatomy inside a specific area of the human body. Performed in most hospitals and clinics, MRI is a radiology procedure ; this implies that its execution and the interpretation of the results deriving from them are the responsibility of a radiologist. Unlike CT , magnetic resonance does not involve the use of ionizing radiation or even the execution of surgical incisions.
Conceived and developed for medical uses between 1976 and 1978, magnetic resonance has undergone a constant process of technological evolution over the years, which has made it, today, an extremely reliable diagnostic test.
Magnetic Resonance, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and MRI
Although it is the most used, “magnetic resonance” is not the complete expression to define the diagnostic procedure in question; the more appropriate wording, in fact, is ” nuclear magnetic resonance “, which, translated into acronym, becomes NMR.
How does MRI work?
The principle of operation of magnetic resonance is extremely complex and fully understandable only to those who know the physical theories underlying quantum mechanics.
Magnetic resonance uses the potential of a large magnet to produce a series of magnetic fields capable of modifying the orientation of the hydrogen atoms present in the individual cells of the anatomical district of interest (eg: lumbo-sacral tract of the back ).
Once the modification has taken place, the deactivation of the aforesaid magnet follows and the consequent restoration, by the hydrogen atoms of the area under observation, of their original orientation; this second event is fundamental for the procedure: when they restore their original orientation, the hydrogen atoms of the investigated anatomical district emit an energy that the MRI machine captures through special detectors and uses, at an immediately following moment to create diagnostic images (detectors transmit the energy signal to a computer, which takes care of its translation into three-dimensional images).