{"id":1240,"date":"2019-07-17T00:56:06","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T16:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.com\/?p=1240"},"modified":"2019-07-17T00:56:06","modified_gmt":"2019-07-16T16:56:06","slug":"whats-the-difference-between-an-mri-and-a-ct-scan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.com\/?p=1240","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s the difference between an MRI and a CT Scan?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/GettyImages-962094932.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"blog-inline-image aligncenter wp-image-1241\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/GettyImages-962094932.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"397\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve been scheduled for diagnostic imaging, you probably have questions. The first time you have any medical procedure, it can be a little bit daunting, but don\u2019t worry!\u00a0MRI and CT scans are non-invasive and non-surgical, and there\u2019s very little discomfort involved.\u00a0What\u2019s the difference between these two types of tests? We\u2019ll break it down for you.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging.<\/b> An MRI machine uses\u00a0superconducting\u00a0magnet and radiofrequency waves to\u00a0provide detailed information about the inside of a person\u2019s body. This kind of test is generally performed when doctors want to know more about the brain,\u00a0skeletal\u00a0system, reproductive system, and other organ systems.\u00a0There\u2019s no preparation necessary for an MRI, and while the machine is noisy and can make some patients feel claustrophobic, the test itself is not invasive or uncomfortable.\u00a0MRIs take about 20 minutes for each system the doctor wants to examine.<\/li>\n<li><b>A CT scan\u00a0is a Computerized Tomography scan.<\/b>\u00a0Using a sophisticated x-ray machine, a CT takes multiple detailed pictures of the inside of the body and transfers those images to a computer. The images can then be viewed from different directions and\u00a0angles\u00a0or rotated in a\u00a0three-dimensional\u00a0model.\u00a0The procedure is painless, but in some\u00a0cases,\u00a0a dye or contrast material is used to make blood vessels or organs easier to see. Sometimes this dye is injected, and sometimes it\u2019s swallowed. CT scans are much\u00a0quicker than MRIs, requiring only about 20 seconds of actual scan time for each part of the body being scanned. There is some concern about the long-term radiation exposure risks from CT scans, but at Salem Radiology, we offer a \u201clow dose\u201d option, which provides\u00a0high-quality\u00a0images with the lowest possible radiation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Why would a doctor prefer one of these tests over another?\u00a0One consideration is that in addition to taking a much longer time, an MRI is much more expensive than a CT scan. On the other hand, MRIs provide much more detail\u00a0about soft\u00a0tissue\u00a0than CT scans, so if there\u2019s\u00a0a question upon review of the CT, a doctor might decide to order a follow-up MRI. Talk to your doctor about your options, and make sure you\u2019re comfortable with the tests being ordered for your care.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Whether you need an MRI, a CT scan, or some other form of diagnostic\u00a0imaging,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.net\/\">Salem Radiology<\/a>\u00a0can help. Established in 1974, we are the largest radiology group in the\u00a0area\u00a0and offer a depth of specialization among our doctors that you would expect to find only at major university medical centers. To learn more or schedule an appointment, call\u00a0(503) 399-1262 or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.net\/contact\/\">contact us<\/a> through our website.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019ve been scheduled for diagnostic imaging, you probably have questions. The first time you have any medical procedure, it can be a little bit daunting, but don\u2019t worry!\u00a0MRI and CT scans are non-invasive and non-surgical, and there\u2019s very little discomfort involved.\u00a0What\u2019s the difference between these two types of tests? We\u2019ll break it down for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1240\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salemradiology.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}