Mri's

The basic design of an MRI machine is a giant cube. The cube in a typical system can vary from 7 feet tall by 7 feet wide by 10 feet long to 10 x 10 x 20,although new models are rapidly shrinking. There is a long tube running through a magnet from front to back. This tube is known as the bore of the magnet. MRI scanners vary in size and shape most MRI machine have a basic design that is the same.

The MRI scanner can pick out a very small point inside the patient's body and determine the type of tissue that exists in that points cell's. The point can be as little as one-half a millimeter on each side. The MRI system goes through the patient's body point by point creating an image of said name cells.

The most important component in an MRI system is the magnet. The magnet in an MRI system uses a unit of measure known as a tesla. The magnets in use today in MRI are in the 0.5 - 2.5 tesla range. There are much more powerful magnets out there. In fact, some up to 60 tesla which are used in research. The magnetic force exerted on an object increases many times as it nears the magnet. Imagine standing 15 feet away from the magnet with a large pipe wrench in your hand. You might feel a slight pull. Take a couple of steps closer and that pull is much stronger, when you get to within 3 feet of the magnet, the wrench likely is pulled from your grasp.

The MRI machine also applies an RF or radio frequency pulse that is specific only to hydrogen. The system directs the pulse toward the area of the body we want to examine. This is the resonance part of MRI. These RF pulses are usually applied through a coil. MRI machines come with many different coils designed for different parts of the body.

Advantages to an MRI:

* Diagnosing multiple sclerosis

* 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