Magnetic Resonance Imaging, better known as MRI is an improvement in the way doctors view internal organs. It’s an advanced alternative to CT scans and has been marked as a reliable method of exposing internal issues such as Brain tumors, bone tumors, and several other issues with the internal structure of the body.
With such information, you can expect that MRIs have a couple of pros. One thing people don’t know is they also have some noticeable cons. This brief exposes all the pros and cons of this technology.
Pros:
1. No exposure to the ionizing radiation-One major benefit of MRIs is that they don’t involve exposure to such radiation, as is the case with some imaging machines. This ionizing radiation can greatly affect pregnant women and babies. This means that MRIs are safe for pregnant women and babies.
2. They effortlessly show soft tissue structures-MRIs are practically the best methods of detecting issues with soft organs and body tissues. They can clearly show issues with ligaments, organs such as the heart, brain, and eyes. They also show issues with cartilage and several other parts of the body.
3. Best for detecting Tumors-MRIs is the perfect machine for checking brain and spinal tumors. They clearly show where the tumor is and help the doctors make better decisions regarding the treatment of such tumors.
4. It can help check how blood moves-MRIs as stated earlier are very effective and can clearly show how blood flows. This means they are used at determining issues with the blood and the circulation system. If in any case there are problems with the arteries or veins, that problem will be spotted with ease.
5. They are super fast to operate-An MRI will start working and within no time the problem will be noticed. That sounds very appealing reasons to go for them. For people with Brain and heart issues, they are the best.
6. The results can be included in a Disc-Did your doctor asks for CD visual videos from the MRI, if yes, then you can always ask the radiologist to provide your results in a disc.
7. It requires fewer patients preparation-The patient will not be required to prepare for long for the scans. Someone can just pop in and later have the scans taken.
8. The contrast agents are well tolerated-For the tumors to show well, the patient will be injected with a contrast agent, which is well tolerated. Fewer patients report any side effects.
9. The machines can be programmed in greater cases, these machines can be programmed to encode for several physiological phenomena. They can calculate the velocity of the moving tissue or even blood.
10. MRIs are safe and painless-The patient will not complain about any side effects. They are also painless and someone will not have to worry except for the contrast agents where they should be injected.
Cons:
1. These scans are expensive-Among many other radiology machines, MRIs are among the most expensive alternatives. To purchase such a machine and put it in a hospital will need a huge investment.
2. They are costly to the patients-although MRI scans are covered by the medical covers, people still inquire about additional costs on other things including discs and interpretation of the results.
3. They have loud noise-Unlike X-rays and CT scans, MRIs produce a loud noise, which can be frightening to some people. The noises usually come from magnets which can scare people greatly.
4. Children need to be sedated before MRI processes-In case a kid wants to be examined through an MRI, they will have to be sedated before they are put inside the machine. This is because they cannot remain calm in the machine.
5. Patients with metallic implants are excluded-Because the machines use magnetic fields to check inner organs and tissues, people with objects that can be attracted by the magnet are excluded.
6. Movements can affect the MRI scans-In case the patient moves, the results can be affected greatly. This is the reason why I stated above that children are sedated before they are put in the machine.
7. People with tattoos have problems with MRIs-The The tattoo ink contains some pigments that can be very serious or even interfere with the results.
8. It’s difficult for patients with claustrophobia-this is because a patient will be put inside an enclosed machine.
9. You should lay still-The machine may fail to give accurate results if you don’t follow some of the given procedures.
10. It takes time to write a report-after you are checked through MRI, the radiologist will have to write a report about the findings which is tiring and time-consuming.
