Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI for short, is a diagnostic tool that uses powerful magnet and radio frequency pulses to detect various energies in body tissues.  These energies are then converted into a picture by a sophisticated computer.

With the use of a powerful electromagnetic field and radio waves, MRI obtains information from the patient's body and therefore, allows physicians to explore the inner workings of the body.  The information is acquired and displayed similar to computerized tomography (CT).  However, unlike CT, MRI can be performed at any desired angle without moving the patient and without the use of x-rays and radiation.  The images obtained by MRI are actually a reflection of the amount of water contained in body tissue.

A complete MRI scan of the whole body takes approximately 45 minutes while a specific area such as a knee joint can take from 10 to 15 minutes.  MRI scans are not for everybody as there are some limiting factors.  Anything metallic in the body precludes undergoing an MRI, such as a metallic clip in the brain, a pacemaker in the heart or an implanted morphine pump in the back.

Patients love the convenience of the facility with evening hours four nights a week and they are even open on Saturday and Sunday.  And doctors relish the fact that they receive prompt typed reports of the MRI scans.