Diagnostics: MRI scan

An MRI scan, short for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, is a non-invasive diagnostic procedure that utilizes powerful magnets and radio waves to generate detailed images of the body's internal structures, helping healthcare professionals in assessing and diagnosing a wide range of medical conditions. During an MRI scan, the patient lies down on a table that slides into a large cylindrical machine. This machine creates a strong magnetic field, causing the hydrogen atoms in the body to align. By applying radio waves, the atoms emit signals that are picked up by receivers and transformed into high-resolution images. MRI scans are excellent at differentiating between types of soft tissue. MRI scans may be undertaken with or without a contrast agent, gadolinium, which helps highlight certain structures on the resultant images. During the scan, the patient is placed within the narrow tube of the scanner, which may induce claustrophobia in some people. People with claustrophobia may be able to tolerate an MRI with a medicine prescribed by their doctor. MRI scans may take approximately 30-45 minutes and are notable for loud banging noises, which is completely normal. The presence of metal in the body (e.g., a pacemaker, Inspire implant, cochlear implants, Osia implants, shrapnel, or even bits of metal in the eye that may occur in metalworkers) may limit MRI imaging options. An advantage of MRI scans is that they do not expose the patient to any ionizing radiation as with plain x-rays and CT scans, because ionizing radiation has a very low risk of causing cancer.