MRI Technologist: Cardiac MRI Success
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging is possible because hydrogen atoms, present in all body tissue, vibrate when exposed to bursts of magnetic energy. An MRI machine is able to conve
rt the energy emitted by the vibrating hydrogen atoms into an image. The images provided are 3-D and cab be sliced and examined on a computer screen.
MRI images taken by an MRI Technologist are extremely useful, but there have historically been problems with images of moving structures, like the heart, being distorted. For this reason Magnetic Resonance Imaging has been used for a long time as a diagnosis tool for many problems in the human body, but, coronary artery disease hasn’t been one of them. Coronary artery disease has previously been imaged invasively, but new technology has emerged that allows the coronary arteries to be imaged non invasively. Not only can coronary arteries be imaged non invasively by MRI technologists, but it can be done with more precision than the old invasive method provided.
Even though cardiac MRI has huge promise, it is not used very much except for in university hospitals where there is an interest in research. The problem with cardiac MRI is that the uses are fairly narrow in scope. However, when the limitations are overcome, the uses of cardiac MRI will be many. Cardiac MRI could be used for patients who come in complaining of chest pain, but who do not have ECG changes usually seen in a heart attack. Presently in this situation the doctors wait for the results of cardiac enzyme tests, and if the results are positive for a heart attack, valuable time has been lost. Cardiac MRI could be used on these patients for immediate results. Researchers are getting close to perfecting techniques that could allow MRI to be used instead of invasive cardiac catheterization in order to diagnose coronary artery disease.
Learn about hiring an MRI Technologist, or find a job as a MRI Technologist.
Source:
- Fogoros, Richard. Cardiac MRI - another step closer. About.com http://heartdisease.about.com/library/weekly/aa123101a.htm
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