Whole-body MRI with an automatic moving table is effective for evalua
ting the entire skeleton in patients with suspected bone metastasis ( cancer that has spread to the bone from other parts of the body) in a single imaging scan-and it only takes between 15 and 18 minutes. Besides its accuracy, quickness and the fact that it's an MRI scan-w
hich means it's noninvasive and there is no radiation risk to the patient-whole-body MRI can also detect metastases in other parts of the body besides the bones, such as in the brain, lung or liver.
The technology that allows an MRI to provide pictures inside our bodies relies on the fact that the chemical building blocks of our organs respond to strong magnets. The atoms within our tissues "line up" when a strong magnet is applied, and when the magnetic field is released, the atoms "relax" and give rise to energy signals; a computer then interprets these signals into images of our anatomy.
