Introduction
The abbreviation MRT stands for magnetic resonance imaging and is an important diagnostic tool in medicine. The way an MRI works is based on the fact that the human body contains many so-called protons. These are individual hydrogen molecules that are diffusely distributed throughout the body.
These protons can be deflected by an MRI in a certain direction by applying a magnetic pulse, hence the name magnetic resonance imaging. This produces a sectional image, similar to a computer tomograph (CT). This means that with the help of MRI, the thoracic spine can be displayed in a sectional image or in a longitudinal section to better visualize the complete course of the thoracic spine.
An MRT offers many advantages. For one, the MRI does not involve any radiation exposure. This is a clear advantage over X-ray or CT.
However, MRI is very slow compared to CT. In addition, MRI cannot be used to examine patients who have a pacemaker or other magnetically active components such as metal plates in their bodies after a fracture. The procedure for an MRI scan is not always the same, as there are different types of MRI images.
As a general rule, before examining the thoracic spine by MRI, at least the upper parts and also the bra must be removed, as these could become disruptive factors. The patient is then positioned on a mobile couch. Using this couch, the patient can now be moved into the MRT “tube”.
It is important that the patient does not move during the examination as this could also lead to disturbing factors. In some practices the patient can therefore listen to music during the examination, which is played over a loudspeaker. The duration of an MRI examination of the thoracic spine takes about 20-30 minutes.
During the ongoing MRI recording, the physical conditions may cause knocking noises to occur repeatedly when the tube is switched on and off. These should not unsettle the patient as this is completely normal and unfortunately unavoidable. It is important to know that you can stop the examination at any time.
Usually the patients receive a bell, with which they can signal that they want to interrupt the examination. In addition, however, the patients are also in contact with the examining physician, the radiologist, for the entire time. So if the patient feels unwell due to the duration of the examination or other reasons, the examination can always be interrupted, but the results are then usually no longer usable.
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