Modern medical science does not stand still, every day there are improved means of not only treatment, but also diagnostics. Today, one of the most accurate and safe diagnostic methods is considered to be magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI. This type of examination has proven its effectiveness more than once, but the debate about whether MRI is harmful to he alth does not subside. To understand how justified such fears are, you need to learn more about this diagnostic method.
What is special about MRI?
Magnetic resonance imaging is the latest diagnostic method. Using a similar technique, human organs are scanned that are not available for other types of examinations.
Most often, MRI is prescribed to determine tumor processes, diagnose the condition of the spine, as well as visualize the brain and spinal cord.
Before the advent and widespread use of MRI, such diseases and pathologies were determined using X-rays, as well as ultrasound research methods. But if you can still doubt whether MRI is harmful to he alth, then in the case of an X-ray examination, the answer is unequivocal.and the damage to he alth is very significant. And the ultrasound method is often not very informative and the result is too dependent on the apparatus and qualifications of the sonographer.
That is why, in many cases, the use of MRI for diagnosis allows early detection of pathology and immediate treatment.
How does MRI work?
The essence of the method lies in the fact that a person is exposed to a magnetic field created by a special diagnostic unit. Magnetic waves cause the hydrogen atoms that are contained in every cell of any human organ to resonate or vibrate. Such fluctuations can be recorded and visualized using special equipment and computer programs.
Preparation for an MRI consists of placing the patient in a special diagnostic unit. The MRI process itself can take a long time - up to two hours, depending on the severity of the diagnosis. The minimum diagnostic time is 40 minutes.
How is the diagnosis?
Despite the fact that the question of whether MRI is harmful to he alth is raised by many patients, practically no one refuses the proposed diagnosis by this method. The fact is that very often, with the help of tomography, the presence and severity of tumor processes or brain diseases are established. And among all the available methods, MRI is the most accurate and painless.
Tomography does not have a harmful effect on human he alth: the influence of magnetic waves does notmore sensitive than radiation from a mobile phone or a microwave oven. However, only a doctor can issue a referral for diagnostics; you should not self-examine yourself.
Special preparation for an MRI is not required. The patient, having received a referral from the attending physician, comes to the diagnostic room and follows all the instructions of the specialists.
In order to create magnetic radiation, frequencies and directions are needed, the patient is placed in a special installation - a tomograph. This is a kind of tunnel in which a person is in the most immobile position. At the same time, magnetic waves act on it, the image is processed by software and displayed on a computer.
After the procedure is completed, the patient does not need rest or hospitalization and can go home on his own.
Contraindications for use
Despite the fact that experts give a negative answer to the question of whether MRI of the brain and other organs is harmful, the procedure has a number of absolute and relative contraindications.
Absolute contraindications that preclude the use of magnetic resonance imaging include:
- The patient has a pacemaker, pacemaker or other artificial stimulator of the internal organs.
- The presence of implants in the skeletal system, namely: artificial joints, pins, plates.
- Availability of dental crowns made of metal.
- The presence of shrapnel wounds with the probability that some of the fragmentsfailed to retrieve.
- Having tattoos containing metal particles.
These contraindications can be summarized: if there are metal particles in the human body, then the use of MRI is strictly prohibited. The metal will react to magnetic attraction, as a result of which the diagnosis can be not only incorrect, but also life-threatening for the patient.
Relative contraindications to the use of MRI are the presence in the patient of various kinds of mental disorders associated with confined space. The patient's task is to remain motionless for quite a long time in the closed tunnel of the tomograph. If his psyche is not ready for this, the diagnostic result may be erroneous.
The need to use MRI in such a situation can only be justified by the attending physician. If the patient's he alth condition allows, magnetic tomography can be replaced by another method; if not, then a preliminary consultation with a psychologist or psychotherapist is necessary to convince the patient of the importance of such a study.
Is MRI harmful to he alth? No, it's not harmful. Radiation from a tomograph is no more harmful than from a mobile phone, and cannot cause harm. But you need to use this type of diagnosis only as directed by a doctor and follow all the recommendations and instructions of specialists.
