Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides an unparalleled view of inside the human body using a huge magnet, radio waves and computer technology to produce high quality images.
These exams are safe, painless and are used to diagnose many conditions involving the brain, spine, joints, muscles, abdomen, breast, heart, prostate and blood vessels.
The MRI machine is a large, tube-shaped machine that creates a strong magnetic field around the person being examined. This magnetic field, along with a radiofrequency, briefly redirects the hydrogen atoms' natural alignment in the body and causes them to spin. This spin creates heat, which is released from the spinning atoms and collected by the scanner to produce an image through specialized computer processing.
Cross-sectional views can be done to show more details. MRI does not use ionizing radiation, like X-rays or CT scans.