Magnetic Resonance Imaging 

 MRI is short for Magnetic Resonance Imaging which is a test that uses powerful magnets, radio waves, and a computer to make detailed images inside your body. Patients that usually get an MRI so their doctors can diagnose a disease or injury, and it can monitor how well they are doing with a treatment. During an MRI scan, the patient will be asked to lie on a movable table that will slide into a tube shaped machine to scan a specific portion of their body. The machine itself will generate a strong magnetic field around the patient and radio waves will be directed at the body. The MRI admits powerful magnets that produce a strong magnetic field that forces protons in the body to align with that field. When a radiofrequency is pulsed through the patient, the protons are stimulated, and spin out of equilibrium, straining against the pull of the magnetic field. When the radiofrequency field is turned off, the MRI sensors are able to detect the energy released as the protons realign with the magnetic field. The faster the protons realign, the more clear the image turns out. With technology comes with many pros and cons. The first con is the patients have to lie still for the images to be recorded clearly or they have to go through the process all over again. The second con is larger patients might not fit into the MRI system and start to feel claustrophobic. The MRI process is a long 15 minutes for patients that can't stay in a tight space and the closed MRI system makes loud noises that might cause the patients in the system to feel anxious. Lucky there are open MRI’s that are quieter, children friendly and less enclosed so that patients don't feel claustrophobic. MRI’s are also better to use then X-rays, C-T scans and ultrasounds because the results are presented more clearly. 

Citations:

 Lam, P. (2018, July 24). MRI Scans: Definition, uses, and procedure. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/146309.php 

 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). (0AD). Retrieved from https://www.nibib.nih.gov/science-education/science-topics/magnetic-resonance-imaging-mri 

 X-rays, CT Scans and MRIs - OrthoInfo - AAOS. (2017, June 1). Retrieved from https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/treatment/x-rays-ct-scans-and-mris