New MRI at BCH

The new Siemens Aera 1.5T Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was installed in June and is now being used. An MRI is a sophisticated and highly accurate imaging technique used to diagnose diseases of the brain, spine, skeleton, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and blood vessels. It is a completely safe, non-invasive, and painless diagnostic procedure. With a large magnet, radio waves, and a computer, MRI produces detailed cross-sectional pictures of your internal organs and structures without using ionizing radiation. Radiology staff are able to do faster scans than they used to and now offer breast MRI scans.
During an MRI exam, individuals will be placed in a strong magnetic field that aligns the nuclear magnetism of protons in the hydrogen atoms, which make up 95 percent of and individuals body. When a radio wave passes through those protons, they generate a radio signal that is processed by computer in the form of tomographic images. The individual’s doctor will use the Radiologist’s report of the MRI scan to make an accurate diagnosis and plan of treatment.
Pictured: Amy Bachman, Radiology, with a patient in the new MRI