Generality
The open magnetic resonance is a modern type of nuclear magnetic resonance, born from the need to help those categories of people - such as obese, claustrophobic, elderly and children - who have difficulty in undergoing classical MRI, that is in which the patient is confined within a cylindrical structure of reduced space.
A classic open MRI lasts between 30 and 60 minutes; at the conclusion, the patient can immediately return to performing normal daily activities.
The open MRI is contraindicated to people with metal devices or components inside the body (eg: pacemakers etc.).
The results are interpreted by a radiologist.
A brief review of what MRI is
Magnetic resonance, whose full name would be nuclear magnetic resonance, is a diagnostic test that allows the visualization of the inside of the human body, without resorting to surgical incisions or ionizing radiations, but thanks to harmless magnetic fields and equally harmless radio waves .
Virtually free of side effects and with very few contraindications, magnetic resonance imaging provides clear and detailed three-dimensional images of so-called soft tissues (nerves, muscles, ligaments, fat, blood vessels etc.) and of the so-called hard tissues (bones and cartilages). This makes it a test of absolute relevance in many fields of medicine: from traumatology to oncology, passing through orthopedics, gastroenterology, cardiology, etc.
The only limit of magnetic resonance is the high cost of the equipment, necessary for the creation of magnetic fields for the observation of the human body, and the maintenance costs of the aforementioned equipment.
What is open MRI?
Open MRI is a modern type of nuclear magnetic resonance, designed to ensure maximum comfort for children, people suffering from obesity or claustrophobia, those suffering from panic attacks in enclosed spaces and the elderly .
In fact, unlike the classical magnetic resonance instrument - which essentially consists of a tunnel with a small diameter, within which the bed used to receive the patient flows - the machinery for open magnetic resonance receives the patient in a wider "environment", less oppressive, precisely "more open".
Effective in state-of-the-art hospitals and in the most modern radiological clinics, open MRI is a radiology practice. So, reading his results is up to a radiologist, just like any other type of MRI.
To distinguish it from open magnetic resonance, classical (or conventional) magnetic resonance also takes the name of closed magnetic resonance .
Is open MRI just this?
Open MRI is not just what has been said so far, but it is also a tool that surgeons use in the operating room, to analyze the organ and / or tissues on which, a few moments later, they will intervene. In these particular circumstances, there is also talk of intraoperative use of open MRI.
Appearance of the device for open MRI
The appearance of an open magnetic resonance device is very similar to that of a large square C, in which the upper arm and the lower arm are two large plates. These plates are used to create magnetic fields and to act as a source of radio waves.
Where does the need for open magnetic resonance come from?
The need to create an open magnetic resonance device arises from:
- The increase in the number of overweight or obese people who are unable to use closed MRI;
- The not negligible number of individuals with problems of claustrophobia or panic deriving from closed and restricted environments. According to an Anglo-Saxon survey, in the United Kingdom, claustrophobia would affect 10% of the general population.
- The need to make available to the younger patient a type of MRI, which allows the accompanying patient to be physically close to him, to reassure him and remind him how to behave during the exam.
The use of open magnetic resonance in the surgical field, during the interventions, is not included in the previous points, as it was not one of the initial aims of the exam in question.
uses
Open magnetic resonance finds particular use in the study of the skull, vertebral column, spinal cord, thoracic musculoskeletal system and internal organs located in the thorax, abdomen and pelvis.
Why isn't open MRI shown for every part of the body? The disadvantages
Compared to the closed MRI, open magnetic resonance has a poorer resolution power, is less detailed and provides images of lower quality.
All these deficiencies make it poorly suited to the study of those parts of the body that are small, but extremely complex from the anatomical point of view, such as the joints of the knee, wrist, hand, foot, etc.
For such structures, the closed MRI still remains the most indicated and effective type of magnetic resonance.
It should be pointed out that, in general, magnetic resonance with a small but complex articulation, such as the knee, involves the use of a device of limited dimensions, which does not cause any kind of concern in claustrophobic, anxious, elderly people etc.
Preparation
The preparation for open magnetic resonance imaging is the same as for all other types of magnetic resonance without contrast medium.
Specifically, this means that:
- No fasting or observance of special diets is foreseen, unless otherwise indicated by the radiologist;
- Shortly before the examination, the patient must take off any garment or object containing metal parts (bags, wallets, shoes, jewelry, etc.), answer a specific questionnaire that checks whether or not there are contraindications to the examination and finally communicate, in the case of a female patient, if she is pregnant (or suspected).
Open MRI scan on an individual with a carer
Like patients who are about to undergo open magnetic resonance imaging, even their eventual carers must deprive themselves of any garment or object provided with metal parts, and respond to a specific questionnaire, which verifies if there are contraindications to the diagnostic examination.
Procedure
After getting rid of any metal object and answering the classic pre-exam questions, the patient must lie down, supine, on a suitable sliding bed, which serves to place him between the two arms of the large C formed by the apparatus.
To guide and help the patient during the accommodation on the couch, he is a radiology technician, who, immediately afterwards, also takes care of providing him with all the necessary comforts (eg: pillows, blankets, earplugs, etc.) and give him the last basic instructions for the correct conduct of the exam. Among these indispensable instructions, the absolute immobility to which the patient must adhere during the entire procedure deserves a mention: the body's movements, in fact, jeopardize the accuracy of the images, hence the success of the open MRI.
Once the bed has been positioned, the actual diagnostic procedure can finally begin.
It should be remembered that modern magnetic resonance equipment is equipped with loudspeakers and cameras for communicating with medical personnel, who, generally, once they have begun the exam, move to a room adjacent to where the patient resides.
The presence of a communication system guarantees complete control of the situation and the possibility, to those who are submitting to the procedure, to report any problems or problems.
If the patient has a carer next to him, it can also be the latter who uses the communication system.
Like any type of MRI, even open MRI is noisy. This motivates the supply to patients and any accompanying persons of the aforementioned ear plugs.
How long can an open MRI last?
Generally, a generic open MRI lasts between 30 and 60 minutes .
What happens at the end of the exam?
Generally, immediately after an open MRI, the patient can get dressed and return to his normal activities, waiting for the medical response.
risks
Open MRI is a highly safe and completely harmless diagnostic for the human body.
The advantage of not exposing the patient to ionizing radiation makes it a test that can be repeated several times, even after a short time.
Open MRI and pregnancy
So far, no study has shown that magnetic fields and radio waves of magnetic resonance have a teratogenic effect on the child, when it is still in the maternal uterus.
However, doctors advise pregnant women to undergo any type of magnetic resonance, involving the abdomen and pelvis, in the first 3-4 months of pregnancy; after which there is more freedom.
In any case, the doctor must always be informed of a possible pregnancy.
Contraindications
The contraindications to open magnetic resonance are the same as those of any other type of magnetic resonance that does not use contrast media (see magnetic resonance with contrast ).
Therefore, all those who present, within the human body, devices or components of metallic nature, such as for example pacemakers, neurostimulators, splinters (those in the eye in particular) and intracranial clips for a brain aneurysm, hearing aids, metal prostheses, metal sutures, etc.
It must be remembered that, for several years now, the search for metals has been particularly active, whose use in the medical field is compatible with the magnetic resonance procedure.
Results
As a rule, the results of an open MRI are available to patients within 3-4 days.
Although it provides less detailed images of closed MRI, open MRI is still a very useful and reliable diagnostic test.
