Healthy MRI of knee

A Valuable Medical Device

A magnetic resonance imaging machine, or, shortly MRI is a very useful device and, probably, one of the greatest breakthroughs our medicine has ever had. It is a non-invasive method which is better than X-ray imaging and some other similar methods since it does not expose the patients to harmful radiation.

An MRI functions on principles similar to the influence of a magnet onto a group of tiny metal pieces, or the effect magnet has on the compass needle. Namely, it exposes the patient to a very strong magnetic field. This field influences the protons in one's organism, causing them to change their positions. Since apart from being a set of magnets, an MRI is also a computer, all these changes are registered, analyzed and adequately calculated. Moreover, they are, thereby, transferred into an image which represents our inner body parts including both bones and other tissue. These images are very clear and help both doctors and patients greatly.

Doing a Knee MRI Scan

Once you are supposed to do an MRI scan of your knee, you will be given special clothes to wear, since no metal is allowed to be inserted into the machine, since it may cause image disruptions or some other problems.

Depending on the reasons behind scanning, you might be given a special dye intravenously so as to provide the doctors with a better image. Also, special coils may be placed on your knee, also for the sake of a good image production.

Your MRI session may last for an hour. It takes approximately 15 minutes for one image to be created and a set is needed for a complete diagnosis. All this time, your doctors will be in a remote room, watching the progress on a screen.

Before doing an MRI scan of your body, you should not eat for 4 to 6 hours. If you are claustrophobic or if you have some metal or artificial medical items placed in your body, you should report these beforehand, since this procedure may be dangerous for you under these conditions.

Additionally, absolutely no metallic objects are allowed in the MRI room, since they are bound to get influenced by the magnetic field emitted by the device.

If you fear tight spaces or get nervous when supposed to be still, you will be given sedatives before the scan. In case, the MRI noise makes you uncomfortable, you may be give ear plugs too.

Purpose and Results

There are numerous knee injuries and problems which are looked for on the scan images. If it does not show them, the patient is most probably not suffering from a physical problem. However, if the image shows any inflammations, fractures, injuries and tears, cysts or any other anomalies, proper therapy is recommended.