MRI ABDOMEN

MRI of the abdomen is done to diagnose the problems in the organs located in the abdominal and pelvic area.

Physicians use MRI Abdomen to evaluate:

Organs of the abdomen, such as the liver, biliary tract, kidneys, spleen, bowel, pancreas, and adrenal glands.

Organs of the pelvis, such as the bladder and the reproductive organs such as the uterus and ovaries in females and the prostate gland in males.

Lymph nodes.

Tumors of the abdomen or pelvis.

Diseases of the liver, such as cirrhosis, abnormalities of the bile ducts and pancreas.

Inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

How is MRI Abdomen Done

Non Contrast MRI Abdomen is done for the patients who have deranged kidney function and cannot undergo Contrast CT Scan as non-contrast MRI gives far more information than non-contrast CT Scan. However you would be asked to come for the test with four hours of fasting as contrast injection might be required in some cases. During the MRI exam, you would be in a room which has strong magnetic field. You should not be wearing any jewellery and should inform the technician if you have any kind of implant inside your body. In any case our technician would be checking you with a metal detector before taking you inside the magnet room.

You are advised to leave your mobile phone, wallet and all clothes inside a locker which is provided to you. You would be given a hospital gown to wear for the test. There is a humming sound which resembles the sound of a running train while the exam is going on. You would be given ear plugs to minimize this sound. You would be required to go inside a cylinderical tunnel and lie still while the exam is going on. On completion of the test, you can change into your own clothes and leave for your home. The MRI Abdomen exam will produce several hundred images which will be reviewed by the radiologist and the report would be made available within 24 hours of the scanning.

Best Centre and Cost

MRI Machines are of two types - Permanent Magnet and Superconducting Magnet. The Permanent Magnet MRI or Open MRI as it is called comes in two strengths - 0.2 Tesla and 0.3 Tesla. The Superconducting Magnet comes in strengths of 1.5 Tesla and 3.0 Tesla. Tesla is the unit for magnetic strength. The common belief is that higher the Tesla, better is the imaging quality but this is not the case. Higher magnetic strength can produce greater noise and result in lower signal to noise ratio. MRI of the Brain, Joints and Spine can be done equally well on a 0.3 Tesla Permanent Magnet as it is done on a 1.5 Tesla Magnet. However inner ear imaging is best done on a 3 Tesla MRI. Many doctors would prescribe MRI scan on a 3 Tesla Machine without knowing the difference in imaging quality. The quality of imaging also depends on the quality of coils, channels in the machine and specialized applications for doing the scanning. Finally the quality of reporting is of paramount importance in any MRI Imaging. At EHL Diagnostics we have the optimum combination of all these factors. We have all types of machines at different centres. So patients who are claustrophobic, are advised to get their MRI on open magnet of 0.3 Tesla. Patients who require extensive testing like MRI brain and whole spine would do better to go for 3 Tesla as the imaging time is lesser.

The cost of MRI Whole Abdomen at our centres is in the range of Rs. 14000 - 15000 for non contrast imaging. If contrast is needed then additional amount of Rs. 3500 - 6000 is charged for the test.