What Is an MRI Scanner?
Have you ever seen a medical drama television show where the physicians look at really detailed pictures of the brain? Did you wonder how they got that picture? It was most likely an MRI scanner that took it! Medical imaging allows physicians to see the inside of the body without having to perform surgery and risk complications. This ability has changed the course of medicine and health care for the better.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanners are machines used in the medical field to take pictures of body structures and functions. Unlike most other imaging machines, MRI scanners do not use radiation (x-rays); they use large, powerful magnets. During an MRI scan, the patient lays down inside a large tube while the magnets inside the tube create radio-frequency waves that produce very detailed pictures of the inside of the body.