MRI Advantages
Why would your doctor order an MRI?
Because the only way to see inside your body any better is to cut you open. MRI is ideal for:
Diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS)
Diagnosing tumors of the pituitary gland and brain
Diagnosing infections in the brain, spine or joints
Visualizing torn ligaments in the wrist, knee and ankle
Visualizing shoulder injuries
Diagnosing tendonitis
Evaluating masses in the soft tissues of the body
Evaluating bone tumors, cysts and bulging or herniated discs in the spine
Diagnosing strokes in their earliest stages
These are but a few of the many of reasons to perform an MRI scan.
The fact that MRI systems do not use ionizing radiation is a comfort to many patients, as is the fact that MRI contrast materials have a very low incidence of side effects. Another major advantage of MRI is its ability to image in any plane. CT is limited to one plane, the axial plane (in the loaf-of-bread analogy, the axial plane would be how a loaf of bread is normally sliced).
An MRI system can create axial images as well as images in the sagitall plane (slicing the bread side-to-side lengthwise) and coronally (think of the layers of a layer cake) or any degree in between, without the patient ever moving. If you have ever had an X-ray, you know that every time they take a different picture, you have to move. The three gradient magnets discussed earlier allow the MRI system to choose exactly where in the body to acquire an image and how the slices are oriented.
Axial, coronal and sagitall slices