MRI KNEE & CARTILAGE MAPPING
An MRI test uses magnets and radio waves to capture images inside your body without making a surgical incision. It can be performed on any part of your body, but a knee MRI looks specifically at your knee and its surrounding areas. An MRI lets your doctor see the soft tissues in your body along with the bones. This allows them to inspect the elements of the knee that might have been injured during physical activity or from wear and tear. The test can also provide detailed images of various sections of the knee, such as bones, cartilage, tendons, muscles, blood vessels, and ligaments, in better contrast than other tests. Your doctor may want you to undergo a special kind of MRI called an MRI arthrogram. For this procedure, your doctor will inject a contrast fluid into your knee to provide a better view of its structure.
MRI is usually ordered to help doctors diagnose and treat many types of conditions. These include:
- arthritis and other degenerative joint disorders
- bone fractures
- damaged cartilage, ligaments, tendons, or meniscus
- decreased motion of the knee joint
- fluid buildup in the knee
- infection
- problems with implanted medical devices
- sports or trauma-related injury
- tumors
Preparation for MRI KNEE
The MRI technician should be informed if you have any inner ear implants, artificial joints, a defibrillator or pacemaker, particular types of heart valves, vascular stents, brain aneurysm clips. The staff will ask you to remove anything that contains metal, including jewelry, sunglasses or any electronic gadgets. All these interfere with the MRI machine’s ability to produce a clear image. Braces and dental fillings will typically not pose a problem, but pens, pins, and certain dental appliances can interfere. In the case of implants and pacemakers, those items can stop working properly due to an MRI’s magnetic field. You will be asked to wear a hospital gown or clothing that doesn’t contain metal fasteners.
Lastly if you’re pregnant, kindly inform the staff and the doctor may postpone the test if required.
PROCEDURE for MRI KNEE
You’ll lie on your back or side on a padded table. The technician may use pillows or straps to make your knee more comfortable during the test. This will also help keep your leg still so the machine can take the clearest images.
The technician will then slide you into the machine feet first. They’ll tell you when to hold still and hold your breath. These instructions will be given over a microphone, since the technician will be in a separate room, watching the monitors as they collect images. The test typically takes between 30 minutes to an hour. You may receive a contrast solution, usually gadolinium, intravenously to allow the MRI machine to see certain parts of the cervical spine more easily, particularly your blood vessels. The scanning will be loud in nature and these banging noises are normal with the machine. There is no need of worrying or fear. You can also ask for ear plug if noise is more than bearable limits. There are no risks associated with the MRI itself. There is a very slight chance that you will have an allergic reaction to a contrast solution. Tell the medical staff if you have decreased kidney function; it may not be safe to use contrast solution if this is the case. Once the images are produced, a radiologist will analyze your MRI images and your results will be available
