fMRI vs. MRI By: Kathleen Shaffer

What is MRI? Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) noninvasive diagnose and treat detailed pictures of organs, soft tissues, bone and virtually all other internal body structures MRI does not use ionizing radiation (x-rays). Detailed MR images allow physicians to evaluate various parts of the body and determine the presence of certain diseases.

What is fMRI? Functional magnetic resonance imaging It measures brain activity When the brain is active, it uses more oxygen So the fMRI notices the oxygen being used in a certain part of the brain Measures the tiny metabolic changes that take place in an active part of the brain learning how a normal, diseased or injured brain is working assessing the potential risks of surgery

fMRI MRI

fMRI MRI

MRI fMRI

fMRI

Who invented it and when? 1990s Seiji Ogawa and Ken Kwong use blood flow and oxygen metabolism to infer brain activity

What does it do? how memories are formed, language, pain, learning, and emotion clinical and commercial settings

How does it work? Blood flow increase Oxygen increase

Benefits noninvasive and does not involve exposure to ionizing radiation help physicians evaluate structure and how it is working enables the discovery of abnormalities that might be obscured by bone with other imaging methods enables the detection of abnormalities of the brain, as well as the assessment of the normal functional anatomy of the brain, which cannot be accomplished with other imaging techniques.

Risks almost no risk to the average patient when appropriate safety guidelines are followed. If sedation is used, there are risks of excessive sedation implanted medical devices that contain metal may malfunction or cause problems during an exam. There is a very slight risk of an allergic reaction if contrast material is injected mothers should not breastfeed their babies for 24-48 hours after contrast medium is given

What can it be used for? Physicians perform fMRI to: examine the anatomy of the brain. Brain mapping help assess the effects of stroke, trauma or degenerative disease (such as Alzheimer's) on brain function. monitor the growth and function of brain tumors. guide the planning of surgery, radiation therapy, or other surgical treatments for the brain.

Real life example Communicate with those unable to communicate Letters

URLs http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=fmribrain http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/what-is-functional-magnetic-resonance-imaging-fmri/ http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/247321.php http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fBPCra8GRUo/UG6Bat3qcUI/AAAAAAAABFg/ibnLttCPEg8/s1600/fmri_machine_scanner.jpg http://mialab.mrn.org/software/fit/images/fmri_fmri_fusion.jpg http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3204/images/01-fmri-enlarged2.jpg https://illinois.edu/blog/dialogFileSec/511.jpg http://www.bvhealthsystem.org/images/cms/MRI%20Cover.jpg http://refried.org/media/images/brainMRI.jpg http://static2.bigstockphoto.com/thumbs/7/9/6/large2/697675.jpg