Imaging Technology

Interior Landscapes

Medical science has made some phenomenal strides in diagnostic techniques in recent years, and among them is magnetic resonance imaging, commonly referred to as MRI. This process can produce images of internal body structures as clear and detailed as an Ansel Adams landscape.

MRI is particularly beneficial to sports medicine because of the sharp contrast it provides between muscle, tendon, cartilage, ligaments, blood vessels, cortical bone and bone-marrow space. An accurate diagnosis of injury is essential to planning treatment and recovery, and MRI gives us an unprecedented look into the human body.

One advantage of the technique is that you are not subjected to radiation as with X-rays or bone scans. However, the procedure requires you to lie quietly for 30 minutes to 90 minutes in a tube like chamber; depending on the complexity of the image.

Some patients simply fall asleep, but for those who are claustrophobic, lying in an MRI chamber can be a scary; even terrifying experience. New types of MRI chambers are therefore being developed with a more open design, so that, for example, children who have MRI may be able to view their parents during the entire procedure.

MRI works by first aligning the hydrogen protons in your body's cells with a magnetic field. Radio frequency pulses are then directed to a specific anatomical slice, causing the hydrogen protons to spin perpendicular to the magnetic field.

As the protons return to alignment with the magnetic field, a special coil acting as an antenna receives the change in signal. This signal is then analyzed by computer; and a diagnostic image is generated on a screen. There are different coils designed for specific body parts.

You do not see or feel anything during the procedure, and you recover in the time it takes you to sit up from a reclining position. The only evidence that the machine is working is a knocking sound. There is no special preparation for an MRI; you can eat normally beforehand and go about your daily routine.

Is the procedure really painless?

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Foreword: Billie Jean King

Comments by Barb Harris
Editor in Chief,
Shape Magazine

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