CAT scan vs MRI

Imaging Devices

Medical imaging is a very important element in the treatment and diagnosing of medical problems. It is very important because it can provide an image of a particular body area and display the problem, if any, that's causing the discomfort. The two types of imaging devices that are most commonly used are MRI and CAT scan.

MRI and CT Scan

They are non-intrusive and inflict no pain, and the patient feels no discomfort in the process. We will now focus on these two devices, which are very different regarding the conditions associated with detection, but they work in the same manner and use the same technique, but each works better on different parts of the body. If you need to look at tendons, use MRI because it is better in this area, since CT provides low result in this area. MRI is best for body areas such as knee and shoulder ligaments and tendons, and this because of the ligament and tendon tissue density. Also, MRI is much better if you need images of the spinal cord due to its composition and the spinal density. The CT scan is better choice for the abnormal chest x-rays, pneumonia and cancer modality. MRI is better for the brain tumor, while CT is better in injury that causes bleeding in the brain, along with other causes of this problem. CT scan will detect organ injury, organ tear and other similar injuries that involve damaged or torn organs. The spinal cord is better seen on the MRI, while the vertebrae spinal bodies and broken bones are better seen on the CT scan. Chest cavity organs such as lungs are better seen on the CT scans, since MRI provides poor results in this department.

Difference

As we have said, the body part that needs to be visualized determines the device we use. Physics is the difference in these two imaging devices. The X-ray beam is used for the CT scan, while magnetic fields along with radio frequencies are used for the MRI, or the magnetic resonance imaging. The hydrogen molecules in the body will start spinning when MRI is used on a part of the body. The slowing down of the top will be accompanied by the wobbling of the top. Then the radio frequencies are introduced and they come into one signal frequency, which creates the image.