Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a diagnostic scan used for a medical imaging procedure. It uses a magnetic field and radio waves to provide images of any part of the body from any angle. MRI does not use X-rays. It is a painless, non-invasive, powerful and sensitive diagnostic tool, which does not have any known side or after effects. MRI scan is used to diagnose and evaluate various medical conditions that affect soft tissues.

An MRI provides images of soft tissue of the body such as the heart, lungs, liver and other organs in which X-ray examinations show no clear images. An MRI can help the doctor evaluate the structure and the function of many organs. Doctor might recommend an MRI scan to diagnose and evaluate brain aneurysms or brain tumours. It provides a provisional diagnosis as to what the brain lesion may be. Patients who have suffered a stroke can find out about the location of blockage or bleeding in the brain that had caused the condition through an MRI scan. It also provides a diagnostic test to review the structural causes of epilepsy.

An MRI scan provides a safer and non-invasive alternative to X-ray angiography for the diagnosis of diseases of the heart and the brain. Injuries to soft tissues, joints and to the spine can be detected and evaluated through MRI. This scan also aids in the planning and preparation of particular surgeries including tumour excision, rotator cuff repair, meniscal surgery and cruciate ligament reconstruction and most spine surgeries.