Pathologies and Diagnosis Discovered Through the Use of MRI

MRI

The use if Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has greatly altered the ability of medical care professionals to diagnose illnesses in patients. The purpose of this discussion is to examine Pathologies and Diagnosis discovered through the use of MRI. All of the research for this analysis will come from resources that are no more than five years old.

Pathologies and Diagnosis discovered through the use of MRI

One of the diagnoses that the MRI has been credited with is Pancreatic Cancer. According to an article found in USA Today, new MRI's are now allowing for the early detection of pancreatic cancer, which usually spreads to other organs before it is detected. The article asserts that Until recently, the ability of radiologists to detect pancreatic cancer was limited by problems associated with existing MRI and computed tomography (CT) requirements. For example, distortions in MRI images caused by the pulsing of blood through the aorta or by the patient's breathing make it difficult to obtain images of the pancreas that are good enough for early detection. While dynamic enhanced CT also is useful in evaluating pancreatic cancer, that technique has difficulty spotting tumors smaller than two centimeters because of limited soft-tissue resolution (New MRI Aids Early Detection)."

The article asserts that the new MRI's are three dimensional and can therefore detect tumors that are not visible with older types of MRI.

Another article found in the journal Alcohol Research and Health asserts that MRI's can even Assess Brain Damage in Alcoholics. According to the article MRI's have detected and quantified gray- and white-matter abnormalities as it relates to macrostructural and microstructural levels (Pfefferbaum, et al. 2003). The article explains that conventional structural MRI shows the size, shape, and tissue composition of the brain and its essential parts (Pfefferbaum, et al. 2003). In addition, Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) shows the integrity of white-matter tracts that connect regions of the brain to one another (Pfefferbaum, et al. 2003).

In addition to pancreatic cancer and brain abnormalities MRI's can now be used to detect track inhaled or dissolved gases in the body. According to Kadlecek (2002) methods to examine the localized changes or abnormalities in lung structure and function were difficult to come by. The two most common types of diagnostic tools are spirometry which is the measurement of exhaled air volume and the speed at which it is expelled and the other diagnostic tool is chest x-rays, both conventional x-rays and those performed with CT scans (Kadlecek 2002). However when Helium-3 polarizers, are used in combination with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), it can also be used as a diagnostic tool and permit the microscopic examination of lung structure and localized studies of lung function, which were not previously possible (Kadlecek 2002). The article asserts further that The purpose of the polarizers is to align the nuclear magnetization of the atoms in ([[blank].sup.3.He]) gas. The test subjects will inhale this specially prepared helium, and an MRI scanner will make measurements of where the gas goes and how long it takes to get there. The results obtained with this approach can show extremely detailed features of gas flow in the lung. Similar techniques can be used to reveal how an inhaled gas moves into the circulatory system, to document how blood flows around the heart and to the brain, and to track other physiological phenomena that are difficult or impossible to follow using any other strategy. The medical use of polarized gas is in its infancy so the extent of future benefits is hard to predict (Kadlecek 2002)."