An MRI disc contains a comprehensive collection of digital medical images, providing a detailed visual record of the body’s internal structures. Receiving this disc allows a patient to review the images that form the basis of their medical report. Understanding basic concepts about viewing software, spatial orientation, and image contrast provides valuable context for a patient’s health information. This guide offers a framework for navigating and understanding the visual data contained on an MRI disc.
Technical Steps for Viewing the Images
The files on an MRI disc are standardized in a format called DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine), which requires specialized software to be viewed correctly. When you insert the disc into a computer’s drive, it may automatically launch a basic proprietary viewer included by the imaging facility. If the viewer does not launch automatically, navigate to the disc drive in your file explorer and look for an application file, often labeled “Viewer” or “Autorun,” to start the program.
If the included software is missing or does not work on your operating system, you will need to download a free DICOM viewer to access the images. Popular options available for patients include MicroDicom for Windows or Horos for Mac, which are designed to handle these specialized files. Once the viewer is installed, open the application and select the option to load a study from a CD/DVD or a specific folder on the disc. These viewers allow you to scroll through the hundreds of individual image slices that make up the complete MRI study.
Understanding the Spatial Orientation
The body’s three-dimensional anatomy is captured by slicing it into a series of two-dimensional images, known as imaging planes. These planes are described using three terms: Axial, Sagittal, and Coronal, each providing a distinct perspective on the structures being scanned. Understanding which plane you are viewing is the first step toward correctly identifying the location of specific anatomy.
The Axial plane, also referred to as the transverse plane, divides the body horizontally, separating the superior (upper) from the inferior (lower) sections. The Sagittal plane divides the body vertically into right and left portions, providing a side-view perspective. The Coronal plane divides the body vertically into anterior (front) and posterior (back) sections, giving a face-on view. Most MRI studies include image sequences in all three planes, which allows the radiologist to precisely localize any findings.
Interpreting Brightness and Contrast
The images on an MRI are maps of signal intensity, where the brightness and darkness of tissues relate to their physical properties. This contrast is determined by the specific sequence used to acquire the image, with the two most common being T1-weighted (T1) and T2-weighted (T2) images. T1-weighted images are generally better for visualizing normal anatomy, as they highlight fat as bright (hyperintense) and fluid as dark (hypointense).
Conversely, T2-weighted images are generally more useful for detecting pathology, as they make fluid and water-containing tissues appear bright. This brightness on T2 images is a hallmark of inflammation, edema (swelling), or lesions, which typically involve an increase in water content. For example, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surrounding the brain and spinal cord appears dark on T1 images but bright on T2 images, providing a visual cue for distinguishing the sequences. Tissues like the dense outer layer of bone and air spaces appear dark on both T1 and T2 images because they contain very few water-based protons to generate a signal.
When to Stop Self-Diagnosing
Reviewing your own MRI images is a helpful exercise for gaining context and becoming more informed about your health condition. However, comprehensive diagnosis requires specialized expertise and should be left to medical professionals. Radiologists spend years training to spot subtle findings, differentiate between normal anatomical variations and pathology, and identify artifacts (image flaws that can mimic disease).
A patient’s view of the images should not replace the official, written radiology report, which correlates the visual findings with your clinical history and symptoms. Attempting to self-diagnose based solely on bright or dark spots risks misinterpretation of benign findings or overlooking something genuinely subtle. Use the images to frame questions for your treating physician, rather than trying to arrive at a definitive conclusion yourself.