MRI of the Head Brain - Opportunity to Look Into The Self

Magnetic resonance imaging (or simply MRI) of the brain, skeleton and other organs as a method of examining bone tissue is the logical continuation of X-ray examination and tomography using a computer. Already more than a hundred years ago, research in the field of medicine showed that you can look inside the human body, if you skillfully take advantage of the physical properties of the X-ray. First property: for a ray, the wavelength is shorter than that of a light wave. Second: the X-ray is able to penetrate the tissues. Heavy fabrics absorb it, soft reflect it. In the photo, in the end, it is clearly visible bones, teeth, chest.

Computer tomography was developed after the introduction into medical practice of computer technology. This study is very similar to radiography. Only it is carried out using a multitude of sensors that direct x-rays to several places at the same time, as if cutting the test organ into a number of lobules. This method helps to see the internal structure of the bone in a cut and in detail. All pictures are transferred to the computer screen, where they can be carefully and leisurely studied by a specialist.

However, both radiography and computed tomography expose a person to radiation, and a lot. As a result, it can provoke the appearance of mutations in the body and lead to the development of cancer cells. Such deficiencies in X-rays prompted physicians, together with scientists, to seek safer methods for studying the human body. Thus, a deep study of physical laws and the development of new technologies led to the appearance in 1973 of a new method.

At the base was not the x-ray radiation, but the properties of the magnetic field and radio waves. The image on the screen during the MRI of the brain, as well as other bone tissues is obtained as a result of the fact that the core of the hydrogen atom, which is part of the examined bone tissue, is exposed to electromagnetic radiation of different frequencies. The amount of energy that the nucleus emits is measured both during the excited state and at the moment of relaxation. All this information comes to the computer, with the help of mathematical algorithms is processed - and on the screen appears a very accurate image of several layers of bone or any other body.

This diagnosis allows doctors to study in detail and identify diseases of those internal organs that can not otherwise be examined. Since it is very difficult to look inside the skull, there is only one reliable way to examine the soft tissues inside it - this is to carry out an MRI of the brain. Where and how does it pass?

What is the brain? This is a very simple procedure for the patient. It's enough to just lie down in the scanner - a narrow scanner with sensors. It will be necessary to lie still for ten to thirty minutes. For this purpose, hands, feet, chest and head can be fixed with special straps to limit the mobility of the body. Basically, the tomographs are rather narrow, this can cause discomfort. At times, some patients embrace panic attacks during the study. For this reason, open tomographs are being developed.

It is widely known that metal and gold-plated objects are very sensitive to the magnetic field, so during the examination of such objects, the patient should not be on the body, and indoors too. All jewelry, buttons and even make-up should be removed before the examination. For the same reasons, MRI of the brain or any other organ can not be performed for patients who have prostheses, pacemakers and any other metal implants.

In recent years, widely used MRI of the brain with contrasting. The essence of the method is that before the study the patient takes a contrast agent. It provides an opportunity to observe the state of various vessels of the brain and the state of their blood circulation. In some patients, an allergic reaction to such a substance is possible. And this, perhaps, is the only harm that a given kind of diagnosis can bring to a person. In general, MRI is very effective in detecting diseases hidden behind the bone tissue.