MRI machines are utilized in testing the body for all different types of conditions. They run around five to eight feet in length, depending on the manufacturer, and are meant to scan all or most of the patient's body.
The devices come in both closed and open types, but no matter which style is used, they harness the same technology and functioning for analyzing. The closed types require the patient to lie inside a tube that is located in the center of the machine.
This area is around two feet wide, so some may experience a tight squeeze once inside. The open machine types tend to be a little less powerful and reliable than their counterparts, but they are more appropriate for those who have problems with small spaces and claustrophobia.
As evident by the name, these machines do not completely surround the individual. In fact, some can even be performed while the patient is sitting or standing.
The machine functions through the use of strong magnetic coils that create a magnetic field where the individual is situated or placed in the machine. This field causes the protons in the hydrogen atoms of the patient's body to line up along this area.
Since the body is mostly made up of water, which contains hydrogen atoms, the element is essential to medical imaging and testing. MRI machines send radio frequency waves which stimulate the hydrogen atoms and cause them to move and get agitated.
When this occurs, those atoms move out of the aligned field that the machine has created and placed them into. When they move back into the field, they get rid of the excess energy and movement that was ignited by the RF waves.
The machine can detect this process, and record in a manner that creates an image of the insides of the body. Quite often, it is necessary for the individual to swallow a compound so that the imaging can be performed correctly; this substance generally contains barium or gadolidium.
An agent like this allows the organs being observed to appear brighter on the MRI scan, because it collects in the region and has a different composition than the rest of the substances within the body. Usually, the images that are created are brought up and viewed on a computer screen and then scanned into images.
However, the machine is not able to immediately transport this information to the device in the manner that it is scanned and appears. The MRI actually detects the energy that is being shed, and this information has to be converted into an image that will show the body's interior.
Frequency and time are recorded and fused together in order to create this image. In other words, the machine takes the information that it receives, a great deal of mathematical and scientific data, and turns it into something called a Fourier transformation.
The Fourier transformation changes the data that is provided by the magnetic resonance imaging device into a visual representation of what is present inside the patient's body. This process would not be able to occur without the magnetic manipulation of water particles within the system; it is the main way that waves can be detected and read.
Water particles that make up human organs and insides are comprised of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen. MRI machines make the protons inside of them line up with the magnetic field.
The radio wave energy creates a rotation, which is then detected by the device and used to make pictures of different organs and structures inside. After this process occurs, the scan continues with a different type of frequency that causes the protons to absorb energy.
This is done so that the device is able to build up the image, and find other protons present in the organ or structure that will assist in creating the best picture possible. Technicians are able to do so through the manipulation of the coils, turning them on for some parts of the scan, turning them off, and repeating the process.
This is why MRI machines tend to make a great deal of noise; though it is uncomfortable, it is necessary to proper functioning. The method can be used to detect a number of different health problems and is essential in medical testing and imaging today.
Author Resource:-
Tommy Greene has worked in surgical equipment sales for the past 15 years. He has great advice and information on Valley Lab.
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