An imaging test is a way to let doctors see what’s going on inside your body. These tests send forms of energy (like x-rays, sound waves, radioactive particles, or magnetic fields) through your body. Your body tissues change the energy patterns to make an image or picture.

Ultrasound is the safest known medical imaging modality and can be used by nearly every patient with little to no risk. Ultrasound is safe for even unborn fetuses and those who cannot use other modalities.

A type of test that makes detailed pictures of areas inside the body. Imaging tests use different forms of energy, such as x-rays (high-energy radiation), ultrasound (high-energy sound waves), radio waves, and radioactive substances.

CT/CAT Scan Computerized tomography (CT) and computerized axial tomography (CAT) are two names for the same type of scan. This scan combines several X-ray images taken from multiple angles to create cross-sectional “slices” of bones, blood vessels, and soft tissues.

There are basically three types of scanners:

• Drum Scanner.
• Flatbed Scanner.
• Handheld Scanner.

The information will include; cost, and how its used The four common scanner types are: Flatbed, Sheet-fed, Handheld, and Drum scanners. Flatbed scanners are some of the most commonly used scanners as it has both home and office functions.

CT scans are more detailed than general X-rays, showing detailed images of any part of the body, including the bones, muscles, fat, and organs. CT scans of internal organs, bone, soft tissue and blood vessels provide greater clarity and reveal more details than regular X-ray exams.

Now if that string was connected to something on the other side, it would start to pull on that side. This is how knots in the muscle work. Those in one muscle can affect all the rest of the muscles and begin to cause pain. The bottom line is that not all pain is able to be detected on an x-ray or MRI.

Cost and Availability. MRI requires more expensive and much larger machinery than ultrasound. As a result, ultrasound is available to more patients in more places throughout the country.

Tendinitis, also called overuse tendinopathy, typically is diagnosed by a physical exam alone. If you have the symptoms of overuse tendinopathy, your doctor may order an ultrasound or MRI scans to help determine tendon thickening, dislocations and tears, but these are usually unnecessary for newly diagnosed cases.

An MRI-directed ultrasound is utilized to find a correlate for a lesion detected at MRI that was either not seen on a breast ultrasound performed antecedent to the MRI or because ultrasound had not been previously performed. Identifying a sonographic correlate enables US-guided biopsy.

In our series of 112 patients with meniscal pathology, MRI scanning was 90.5% sensitive, 89.5% specific and 90.1% accurate. Conclusions: False positive MRI scans may lead to unnecessary surgery.

Getting Through an MRI When You Have Claustrophobia

1. 1-Ask questions beforehand. The more educated and informed you are on the specifics of the test, the less likely you are to be surprised by something.
2. 2-Listen to music. If the exam allows, ask about listening to music.
3. 3-Cover your eyes.
4. 4-Breathe and meditate.
5. 5-Ask for a blanket.
6. 6-Stretch beforehand.
7. 7-Take medication.

GE Healthcare won FDA clearance for its SIGNA 7.0T MRI scanner, currently the most powerful device available for clinical applications. A high end scanner’s magnetic field typically tops out at 3 Tesla, but the new device goes all the way up to 7 Tesla to provide an unprecedented look at highly detailed anatomy.

The higher field strength means a better signal and higher-resolution images of brain structures and irregularities, as well as the musculoskeletal system. When cleared for clinical use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the 7.0T will be the most powerful MRI scanner available for patient use.

MRI can detect a variety of conditions of the brain such as cysts, tumors, bleeding, swelling, developmental and structural abnormalities, infections, inflammatory conditions, or problems with the blood vessels. It can determine if a shunt is working and detect damage to the brain caused by an injury or a stroke.

Scientists at the University of Minnesota have become the first in the world to perform magnetic resonance imaging of the human body at 10.5 Tesla—a magnetic field strength 10 times greater than a standard MRI and topping even the most advanced scanners elsewhere in the world.

The reason MRI scans are slow, explains Daniel Sodickson, a professor in the department of radiology at NYU School of Medicine, is that they need to capture all the data necessary to generate a nice image for a radiologist to interpret.

A man in India has reportedly died after being yanked toward a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, according to news reports. MRI imaging is quite safe for human tissue, but introducing metal near the machines can be deadly.

Any item containing ferromagnetic metal (iron, cobalt, nickel, some types of stainless steel) must never be brought anywhere near MRI, especially in room housing the MRI.

Austenitic stainless steel is MRI compatible in general. Ferritic and martensitic types of stainless are magnetically active and are not MRI compatible.