Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Find an Inova location for your MRI
MRI provides an unparalleled view inside the human body
using a huge magnet, radio waves and computer technology to produce high quality images.
MRI exams are safe, painless and are used to diagnose many conditions involving the brain, spine, joints, muscles, abdomen, breast, heart, prostate and blood vessels.
How does it work?
MRI relies on the radio-frequency range of the electromagnetic spectrum. The
body is made up primarily of water and fat, which have many
hydrogen nuclei.
Hydrogen nuclei have properties that when placed within a magnetic field will align themselves in the same direction and spin when a radio frequency wave is introduced. This spin creates heat, which is released from the spinning nuclei and collected by the scanner to produce an image through specialized computer processing.
The result is a highly detailed 3-dimensional image that can be viewed from multiple angles.
