Hi Anon - Thank you for your question. I'm sorry to hear your cancer has spread, and as a cancer patient myself I understand that you have many concerns.
First, the MRI is one of the diagnostic tools used because taking a tissue sample by opening the scull and taking out tissue for a more traditional type of biopsy is dangerous for the patient. I'm sure you can understand the concerns.
During the MRI procedure, the patient's head is surrounded by a magnetic field while radio energy is beamed to the area being examined. That magnetic field causes atoms in the brain to change direction. The radio waves cause another change of direction. When the beam stops, the atoms relax and return to their original position. During relaxation, the atoms give off signals in differing amounts and at different intervals of time. Antennas pick up these signals and feed them into a computer which assembles a picture. Because different atoms have their own characteristic radio signals, the computer can distinguish between healthy and diseased tissue. Radiologists who specialize in reading these results are able to distinguish the differences in tissue as shown by the MRI reports and as they've learned from experience over the many years of doing this.
This site has helpful information on how the MRI is used to help diagnose brain tumor patients:
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=fmribrain
Please let me know if this answers your question, or if you have additional questions.
Comment Reply
Hi Anon - Thank you for your question. I'm sorry to hear your cancer has spread, and as a cancer patient myself I understand that you have many concerns.
First, the MRI is one of the diagnostic tools used because taking a tissue sample by opening the scull and taking out tissue for a more traditional type of biopsy is dangerous for the patient. I'm sure you can understand the concerns.
During the MRI procedure, the patient's head is surrounded by a magnetic field while radio energy is beamed to the area being examined. That magnetic field causes atoms in the brain to change direction. The radio waves cause another change of direction. When the beam stops, the atoms relax and return to their original position. During relaxation, the atoms give off signals in differing amounts and at different intervals of time. Antennas pick up these signals and feed them into a computer which assembles a picture. Because different atoms have their own characteristic radio signals, the computer can distinguish between healthy and diseased tissue. Radiologists who specialize in reading these results are able to distinguish the differences in tissue as shown by the MRI reports and as they've learned from experience over the many years of doing this.
This site has helpful information on how the MRI is used to help diagnose brain tumor patients:
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=fmribrain
Please let me know if this answers your question, or if you have additional questions.
Take care, Pat
June 17, 2010 - 5:31pmThis Comment
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