- Title
- MRI in general practice
- Creator
- Williamsz, Garvin; Stanwell, Peter
- Relation
- Australian Doctor Vol. 27 June 2014, p. 21-28
- Relation
- http://www.australiandoctor.com.au/cmspages/getfile.aspx?guid=f95bfabd-5e38-40ef-9358-fcafbf06a15a
- Publisher
- Cirrus Media
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2014
- Description
- Magnetic resonance imaging is a non-invasive technique that provides structural and functional information. Its origins date back to the 1930s when magnetic characteristics of atomic nuclei were first described. However, it was not until 1971 that nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was applied in biomedical applications, when Dr Raymond Damadian measured T1 and T2 relaxation times (see ‘Basic concepts’ section) in rat neoplasms and observed that neoplastic tissue possessed longer T2 relaxation times than those of normal tissue. At that same time Dr Damadian correctly predicted that the NMR technique might prove useful in the detection of malignant neoplasms. In 1977 the first magnetic resonance images of humans were produced (the ‘N’ was dropped to avoid negative connotations associated with ‘nuclear’). Fundamental work in diffusion imaging in 1984 laid the groundwork for functional MRI techniques, and in 1986, the first reports of the calculation of diffusion coefficients occurred. In the following years, diffusion tensor imaging and functional MRI using blood oxygenation level-dependent techniques were also developed. Today, an ever-growing array of novel techniques for MRI is currently under investigation to increase the number of structural and functional (eg, tissue angiogenesis, tissue ultrastructure) correlations that can be assessed using magnetic resonance-based techniques. MRI does not use ionising radiation, thus in situations where MRI provides similar, or improved, information compared with ionising radiation techniques (eg, CT, X-ray, nuclear medicine) MRI may be a safer choice. This is particularly relevant to children and young adults who are at greater risks of harm from ionising radiation than older adults. In this article we aim to provide an overview of the physics behind MRI scanning, an understanding of the techniques used to enhance the effectiveness of MRI, how and when MRI may be used to assist in a patient’s management and the potential adverse events and safety issues that should be addressed.
- Subject
- MRI; general practice; ionising radiation; scanning; magnetic resonance imaging
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1061485
- Identifier
- uon:16960
- Identifier
- ISSN:1039-7116
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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