CT vs. MRI
The more people I talk to about CT the more aware I have become
that they do not know the differences between CT and MRI. They often think they
are the same modality. I have been trying to educate people about the many ways
in which they differ.
If any of you watch the show Breaking Bad on AMC you know
that the main character, Walt, has been having a series of PET/CT scans to
monitor his cancer. There is a scene where he is preparing for his scan and the
patient sitting next to him asks “is this the loud one.” Walt, being the
intelligent scientist that he is, proceeds to inform him that MRI uses magnets
that are loud and the PET/CT that they are both having utilizes radiation to create
images of the body.
All of us who work in the field of radiology are well versed
on the workings of the different machines, but we have to remember that not
everyone shares our knowledge base. Be patient with your friends and other
people in your life and teach them so we can all walk through the world together
with a more clear vision of how to see inside the human body.