Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Paper Summary:

In July, 1977, an event took place that would forever alter the landscape of modern medicine. Outside the scientific research community, this event hardly attracted any notice at all. The event in question was the first MRI exam ever performed on a human being. The procedure required almost five hours to produce one image, and the images were, by today's standards, very primitive; however, its successors number in the thousands today. The advent of the MRI clearly represented the beginnings of a new standard in noninvasive radio-imaging that continues to be refined. This paper provides the background and history of magnetic resonance imaging, including its discovery and evolution and newly identified applications for the technique. A summary of the research is provided in the conclusion.

From the Paper:

"MRI provides an unparalleled view inside the human body. The level of detail we can see is extraordinary compared with any other imaging modality. MRI is the method of choice for the diagnosis of many types of injuries and conditions because of the incredible ability to tailor the exam to the particular medical question being asked. By changing exam parameters, the MRI system can cause tissues in the body to take on different appearances. This is very helpful to the radiologist (who reads the MRI) in determining if something seen is normal or not. We know that when we do "A," normal tissue will look like "B" -- if it doesn't, there might be an abnormality. MRI systems can also image flowing blood in virtually any part of the body. This allows us to perform studies that show the arterial system in the body, but not the tissue around it. In many cases, the MRI system can do this without a contrast injection, which is required in vascular radiology."

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