There are many ways to classify the types of MRI. One such way is by location of the body part being scanned by an MRI (ex. brain MRI, cardiac MRI) and another way is by utilization or technique (ex. functional MRI, MR angiography). There are also MRI scanners that are classified by the design of the machine, such as a closed-bore MRI and open MRI.
Types of MRI Scans and What They Do
Cardiac MRIs – Use to check the heart’s overall structure such as size of the heart’s chambers and thickness of the heart’s walls. Can also show the extent of damage from heart disease or recent heart attack.
Brain and Spinal Cord MRIs – The most common diagnostic tool to diagnose the presence of cerebral vessel aneurysms, conditions of the eyes and inner ears, and conditions to the spinal cord. Also, to diagnose brain injury from trauma.
Functional MRIs (fMRI) – Used to illustrate the anatomy of the brain, as well as the different areas of the brain related to most of the body’s functions, including language and movement.
Bones and Joints MRI’s – Can check for issues with the joints or infections in the bones; A bone MRI can evaluate spinal disc injuries and tumors found in soft tissues and within the bones.
Internal Organ MRIs – can assess whether tumors exist in organs such as the kidney, pancreas and other lymphatic organs. It can also assess if there are tumors in the reproductive system such as the uterus and ovaries.
Breast MRI – A breast MRI can be used to screen for breast cancer in conjunction with mammography for women at high risk. A breast MRI can also detect changes in breast cancer lesions and monitor for silicone implant leakages.
Magnetic resonance angiography– This type specifically looks at blood vessels and the blood flow in the body. and can evaluate and look at the possible causes of blockage or narrowing in the blood vessels or possible causes of stroke.
Open MRI Scanners
These scanners offer patients more space for a more comfortable experience, lending themselves well to those who become anxious under closed bore scanners. These MRI scanners differ from the rest as they are open on all four enclosing edges. This open edge design allows the patient to breathe better while they are being scanned, however, this scan quality is greatly reduced.
Vista Health operates Open MRI scanners. Our Open MRI has maximum comfort for patients and it can accommodate the latest sequences and imaging performance developed by Esaote.
Open upright MRI
The open upright MRI is a completely open scanner at the front. This allows patients to be seated, standing or lying down during the examination. This allows you to be comfortable and assured during the exam.
- MRI Scanners for Extremities
MRI Scanners specifically designed for extremities focus on limb and joint scanning. These can give detailed images of internal structures and tissues in limbs / joints. They feed the raw images into a computer for analyses. In some cases, these can find issues like fractures missed by standard X-ray machines.
What’s Involved When You Have an MRI Scan?
You will either get an MRI scan via a closed-bore MRI machine or an open-mir machine. Although closed MRIs generate clearer images than open MRIs, open MRIs may afford patients a more comfortable experience who prefer more space. If being in tight spaces is a concern for you and there are no other MRI machine options other than closed MRIs, you could ask your healthcare provider for a sedative or anesthetic option if you wanted.
The average time to have an MRI can take anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour to complete. You can resume your regular routine once you leave.
Conclusion
MRI technology has a variety of specialized scan types for differences in organs, tissues, and diagnostic needs, including structural MRIs, functional MRIs, vascular MRIs, cardiac MRIs, breast MRIs, and musculoskeletal MRIs, and these scans may or may not have contrast enhancement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q What is MRI and its uses?
An MRI image can help define several types of medical conditions, especially abnormal conditions of the brain and spinal cord or abnormal conditions of soft tissue.
Q. Where can MRI be used?
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) can be used for scanning multiple areas of the body including the brain, spinal cord, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and internal organs like the liver, bile ducts and pancreas.
Q. In which case is MRI used?
soft tissue, organs, and bones, brain, spinal cord, and musculoskeletal system and are also useful for looking at internal organs, blood vessels and tumors.
Q. Can an MRI show brain damage?
Yes, an MRI can show brain damage
Q. What is the cost of a brain MRI scan in Delhi, NCR?
The cost of brain MRI scans in Delhi can range from about 4000 INR to 6000 INR. There is no fixed cost due to centre to centre differences in pricing as well as other pricing factors. for further details contact carebox.
