Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) - How it Works

At Rose Radiology, a team of board-certified physicians employs state-of-the-art and traditional equipment to offer imaging and treatment services. For its patients in need of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Rose Radiology maintains two cardiovascular MRI machines as well as an upright open MRI system.

Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, uses radio waves and magnetic fields to create detailed images of human body structures. Each MRI machine works via two large magnets, the first of which causes all water molecules in the body to align on a north or south axis. The machine then activates and deactivates the second magnet in a pulsing sequence, which causes the hydrogen nuclei in each molecule to re-align and then to relax.

These changes in alignment generate radio waves that are detectable via a specialized and highly sensitive scanner embedded in the MRI machine. The scanner can detect the different rates at which the nuclei of different body tissues re-align, and these differences allow the system to generate images that show contrast between tissue types. Such images allow physicians to identify tumors and other structural abnormalities in the human body.