Social impact of technology class. MRI Scanners Media Presentation.

1. Technology Will Save Our
Minds and Bodies
THE MRI SCANNER
By Chris Eastman

2. To be Covered
 The Need
 X-Rays
 CT Scans
 MRI Scans
 How MRI’s work
 Benefits of the MRI
 Conclusion

3. The Need
“I NEED AN MRI!”
 With so many different health issues that are possible, we
need a way to see what the problem is before we can start
treating it.
 Before technology the only way to do this was to cut open the
patient and look for a problem.

4. X-Rays
 In 1895, German physicist Wilhelm
Conrad Röntgen accidently stumbled
upon an image cast by his cathode ray
generator.
 Wilhelm later took an X-Ray photo of
his wife’s hand and released it to the
public. It quickly excited the scientific
community. First X-Ray Photo By
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen

5. X-Rays
 X-Rays work by sending electromagnetic waves
(radiation) through the body, exposing a film with a 2D
image of the patient’s internal structure.
 The amount of radiation exposer is said to be minimal,
but some people are still weary.
 X-Rays are now used commonly by the medical
community.

6. CT Scans
 CT (Computed Tomography) scans
combine X-Rays with computer
technology for a better detailed image
of the internal structure.
 CT Scans offered 3D results, better
than X-Rays’ 2D.

7. The MRI Scanner
 Scientist Raymond Damadian created an alternative, non-
intrusive way to see within the human body, using
magnets.
 In 1977 his first successful MRI Scan took place. MRI
stands for magnetic resonance imaging.
 Here is a short video that is a good example of what an
MRI scan looks like: http://youtu.be/VGyLSQVvR1U

8. How It Works

9. How It Works
 The patient is put into the large cylinder scanner, which is
rigged with a superconducting magnet, creating a powerful
magnetic field (that is up to 40,000 x the earth’s magnetic
field).
 Radio Frequency coils send radio waves through the patient’s
body.
 This affects the body’s atoms, causing them to move, and
when they move back into place they send out their own
radio waves.

10. How It Works
 The atoms’ radio waves are picked up by
the scanner and sent to a computer,
which produces the images.
 These images are based on how strong
the signals were and where they were
sent from.

11. Benefits of the MRI
 The MRI scanner has many benefits that the X-Ray does not
including:
 MRI is good for finding multiple body conditions, where X-Ray is only
good for a few.
 Suited for ligament and tendon injury, spinal cord injury and brain
tumors.
 Can produce images in multiple planes without moving the patient.
 No known biological hazards.
 Detects the most subtle differences between different soft tissues.
 No radiation exposure.
• X-Rays continue to be popular for different reasons, mainly
being that the price is lower and the scan time is much
shorter.

12. Conclusion
 MRI Scanners are extremely effective tools used for
discovering internal health issues in the human body.
 They are better than previous scanning equipment at
spotting subtle issues that may be overlooked.
 Spotting the issue is the first step to fixing the problem,
therefore these machines are some of the most
important pieces of equipment in the medical field.

13. References
Lyons, M. (Apr, 2012) The most amazing medical technology is MRI Denver scans.
Retrieved from http://www.health-articles.co.uk/the-most-amazing-medical-technology-is-
mri-denver-scans/
Gould, T. (N.D.) How MRI works. Retrieved from ttp://science.howstuffworks.com/mri.htm
N.A. (Jul, 2007) X-rays, CT scans and MRIs. Retrieved from
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00188
Pillinger, J. (July, 2011) MRI scan. Retrieved from
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/examinations/mriscan.htm
N.A. (N.D.) MRI vs X-ray. Retrieved from http://www.diffen.com/difference/MRI_vs_X-
ray