MRI s machines differ

Comment

Comment by Chris K. on January 13, 2012 at 6:53am

wm, my symptoms are atypical and focused in my teeth, and my MRI was clean. My own personal theory (not based on science) is that atypical symptoms could potentially stem from the nerve fibers inside the nerve itself rather than from an insult to the outside of the nerve. From my understanding, MRI is not able to see within the nerves themselves.

On a side note, besides imaging quality, another reason to seek out the most up-to-date, sophisticated MRI machine is that the comfort level varies wildly from the older machines to the newer ones. When I had my brain MRI, I asked a lot of questions about the machine, and was scheduled into the fancy new wing of the hospital where they were using brand new equipment.  The process aggravated my TN somewhat, but things quickly calmed down afterward. On the other hand, when my cervical spine MRI was done a couple of weeks later, it was in the original MRI machine at the hospital. The vibrations and noise in the older machine did a number on me and it heightened the pain levels for a few days. So, it is worth the extra effort to get the best machine possible. That said, in my book, MRI is such a fantastic diagnostic tool that it is worth going through, so I'm not trying to discourage anyone who doesn't have the very best equipment available to them. Doctors are able to prescribe medications to make the process more comfortable if need be. I think you just have to arrange for this ahead of time.

Take care,

Chris

Comment by wm phillips on January 12, 2012 at 9:32am

I have atypical TN and with recent feedback from Red L. I pushed for another imaging

study. It's been four years. To my utter surprise I just found out about the the 3T superiority. All this despite top neurosurgeons looking at my images in the past year; both showed no interest in my inquiry about re-doing an image study. Unless I new what the gold standard is for an mri study, I was powerless to advocate for myself. This week I will have the new imaging study. Nothing  may be gained but at least I will have better data.  Review of the literature does not encourage me that an mri can reveal what underlies the cause for atypical symptoms. Then again, the research is pretty thin. Maybe we are the research as we plod along. I would be very interested in knowing if others have had a positive experience with using a 3t mri to target treatment for atypical symptoms which feel dental in nature.

Comment by Liz K. on September 19, 2010 at 8:07pm

I keep thinking about all the people I know who have had MRIs and like me assumed all MRIs were the same. These are people who have other conditions.

Comment by Sarah Hobbs on September 17, 2010 at 1:00pm

Was sent to OHSU for my MRI/MRA as Dr Eller was adamant that the test be done on a 3 Tessa machine and all the VA had at the time was a 1.5 machine.

Comment by Kerry on September 17, 2010 at 11:50am

Good idea to put this up Liz, our doctors sure don't tell us these things, and I think we have the right to the best care we can get.
I have friends who were tested on 1.5T MRI machines and like me, the test showed negative results for anything. Yet when they got tested on either a 3T or higher machine, they got clearer pictures and the doctors could then see what was happening better. Some of these were TN friends, another who had a previously undetected brain aneurysm, and another friend with an Aural nerve tumor. I am in the market for a new neurologist who can get me a referral to my states best machine after reading this! So Thank you!