MRI

Stud

Prof

Course

19 October 2007

Old age is inevitable . It is a fact of life that no one lives forever But in the meantime all means must be employed to extend the lifespan of a person . And not only that there is a need to improve the quality of life and not just simply live long , but to live long and healthy . For the past millenniums man is pushing the boundaries of ignorance regarding the human body . But the best that it can do is to observe the outward

physical appearance , use the hands and fingers to feel for any abnormality and at best to look at the orifices such as the mouth , ears and anus to determine sickness

All of these primitive and crude methods of diagnosis was forever revolutionized upon the discovery of magnetic rsonance imaging . This will take a basic look into the events surrounding its discovery and a much detailed look into the what makes this technology an indispensable tool for all modern hospitals

Background

A physician asked to diagnose a patient will do his best to look at the signs and symptoms . But man 's eyes are sensory perceptions that is very limited in the sense that it could not see the minutest of elements and the smallest of details . In the case of the medical profession human eyes could not see beyond the surface of the human body . But the information hungry doctor would like to go beyond the surface and see what is inside the person

The classical way of doing physical diagnosis is the ability to probe without the use of sophisticated equipment . Limited access to the body is done through the examination of the orifice of the anus , nose , ears and mouth . But this again could never assure the physician that he has all the crucial information in his hands

Over the years the the crude techniques were modified and improved but still the results are not are reliable . Oftentimes than not it is only after the demise of the patient when the physician can fully determine the effect of the sickness . And of course by that time everything is already too late . Then came the Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI . Its invention allowed modern day physicians to have a very helpful tool in seeing something that was once considered invisible , well until the patient is still alive there is no way that one can see the brain and the heart or the intestines in olden times

Discovery Invention

In most cases , inventions are a product of accidents . It is almost impossible to solve a very complex problem using a direct approach meaning , a person sees a complicated problem and then immediately develops a solution . Most of the time , a number of people working separately - not knowing what others are up to - and then discover bits and pieces of the puzzle . An inventor comes along scoops up all the available information and then puts it all together

This is...