MRI Quality Q's

[Ruhlfreak55]

I need to have an MRI on my shoulder to determine if and how much any rotator cuff muscle and/or labrum is torn.

I have only ever had 3T MRI's in recent memory and somehow it appears where I live now is stuck in the stone age and I'm having trouble finding one. I just see essentially all 1.5T MRIs. Does anyone have enough experience to understand how big of a difference this makes in the end for image quality in an ortho setting?

I am also concerned about being able to actually see and differentiate everything shoulder wise in the scan if I'm stuffed in the tube like a sardine. Has anyone had their doctor opt for the pancake style MRI for these types of things? When my bicep tore off they wanted that type, and then when my pec was injured the doctor said he couldn't see shit on the MRI (ostensibly because I was stuff in there and shit was compacted, but there was also a lot of blood at the time).

 

[muscle96ss]

I need to have an MRI on my shoulder to determine if and how much any rotator cuff muscle and/or labrum is torn.

I have only ever had 3T MRI's in recent memory and somehow it appears where I live now is stuck in the stone age and I'm having trouble finding one. I just see essentially all 1.5T MRIs. Does anyone have enough experience to understand how big of a difference this makes in the end for image quality in an ortho setting?

I am also concerned about being able to actually see and differentiate everything shoulder wise in the scan if I'm stuffed in the tube like a sardine. Has anyone had their doctor opt for the pancake style MRI for these types of things? When my bicep tore off they wanted that type, and then when my pec was injured the doctor said he couldn't see shit on the MRI (ostensibly because I was stuff in there and shit was compacted, but there was also a lot of blood at the time).

If you think the labrum is torn you need an MRA(MRI arthrogram), where they inject a dye into the shoulder joint under fluoroscopy. This will give you the best picture. And yes, you should find an imaging center that uses 3T.

 

[cage99]

I can’t comment of the difference between the different MRI’s. However, my MRI’s have always been open style. I just laid on a table, they slid me inside, but the sides were open. The other one was a stand up option if I’m remembering right.

Cage

 

[Ruhlfreak55]

If you think the labrum is torn you need an MRA(MRI arthrogram), where they inject a dye into the shoulder joint under fluoroscopy. This will give you the best picture. And yes, you should find an imaging center that uses 3T.

Yes it's for an arthrogram (the order), I want EVERYTHING else in this shoulder visible and completely evaluated though. I have been flummoxed in the past to learn that after the fact they'll look at one thing and not evaluate the whole joint and all attachments.

 

[Ruhlfreak55]

I can’t comment of the difference between the different MRI’s. However, my MRI’s have always been open style. I just laid on a table, they slid me inside, but the sides were open. The other one was a stand up option if I’m remembering right.

Cage

That's the pancake one. Apparently they're fairly rare, that's what I had for my bicep though so it could be outstretched.

 

[Canuck54]

They will make you raise your non-injured arm and go in the tube like Superman. You can take breaks if you need when you arm falls asleep. The mri reading also depends more on a good radiologist to read it. I would definitely do it.

 

[ripriot]

I need to have an MRI on my shoulder to determine if and how much any rotator cuff muscle and/or labrum is torn.

I have only ever had 3T MRI's in recent memory and somehow it appears where I live now is stuck in the stone age and I'm having trouble finding one. I just see essentially all 1.5T MRIs. Does anyone have enough experience to understand how big of a difference this makes in the end for image quality in an ortho setting?

I am also concerned about being able to actually see and differentiate everything shoulder wise in the scan if I'm stuffed in the tube like a sardine. Has anyone had their doctor opt for the pancake style MRI for these types of things? When my bicep tore off they wanted that type, and then when my pec was injured the doctor said he couldn't see shit on the MRI (ostensibly because I was stuff in there and shit was compacted, but there was also a lot of blood at the time).

3.0t is twice as strong as the 1.5t which is obvious, but one way it makes a significant difference is improving the visualization on anatomical structures.since the labrum is so small the mri only gets 2-4 slices. Having clearer images would help get a more confident diagnosis. But even with contrast there is a higher false positives for labrum’s then mri of rotator cuff. The biggest advantage for some of the imaging businesses is faster scanning with 3.0 t. They do them in about the half the time so they can scan more patients in a day. I just went through this on my shoulder June of this year. How I know so much plus having a good doctor. They did 1.5t of my shoulder and 3.0 t of my cervical. 1.5t’s are still the most common used