RI scanning has been in
use since the early 1980s and this twenty year
experience with over 100 million patient scans
has not revealed any risk from MRI exposure.
Reduced Risk of
Nerve and Vessel Injury: One of the
weaknesses of fluoroscopic X-ray guidance is
that the doctor sees primarily bones only. It
does not provide a direct view of nerves, blood
vessels, cartillage, internal organs, or muscles.
MRI provides a richly detailed view revealing
all of the tissues of the body to the doctor
doing the procedure. With the advent of high
speed "FLASH" (fast low angle shot)
MRI, and in-the-room flat screen technology,
the doctor has an essentially real time view
of all these structures as he works.
In some X-ray work, MRI
scans obtained prior to the injection procedure
are shown to the doctor electronically using
an "image guidance" system correlated
to the patient's anatomy during X-ray fluoroscopy.
However, these are "old" images reflecting
the appearance and position of mobile structures
at some other time. The use of real time MRI
guidance shows the doctor exactly the location
of important structures such as nerves, the
esophagus, the carotid artery, and other critical
tissues while also showing the injection needle
and its precise position relative to these other
structures at the sub-millimeter level.
The development of Titanium
injection needles such as the "Lufkin"
needle has resulted in real time Open MR images
that show the precise, undistorted shape of
the injection needle and the position of the
tip relative to all other tissues.
Improved View
Through Insantaneous 3D/Multi-Planar Views:
MRI allows the doctor to "cut" the
body with images obtained in any plane or orientation
and provides an information-rich three-dimensional
working space. X-ray fluoroscopy gives the doctor
a 2D image with images of many different structures
imposed and overlapped over each other. When
the view is "lateral" the left side
and right side may be difficult to distinguish
leading to increased patient risk. CT C-ray
guidance can provide a full cross-sectional
view, but in general this is only in the axial
plane of the body. Views of any other planes
through the body can only be generated by computer
in crude form and with the elapse of significant
time delay. Only MRI can provide immediate view
of all tissues in any plane relevant to the
safety, comfort and efficacy of the necessary
approach during the procedure.
Updated Diagnostic
Image Information: Another unparalleled
advantage of Open MR guided injections is the
opportunity for an immediate update of the underlying
clinical diagnostic information. Often a patient
is referred for an X-ray guided injection based
on MRI data obtained weeks or months earlier.
The use of Open MR guided procedures on an advanced
Siemens imager allows for an immediate update
of the underlying diagnostic MRI information
exactly at the time of the intervention.
