Intraoperative MRI

Intraoperative MRI, also called operating room MRI, brings the power of magnetic resonance imaging directly into surgery. A specially designed scanner, integrated into the operating room, lets the surgical team obtain detailed pictures of the brain or spine while the operation is still under way. This means the surgeon can check progress during the procedure rather than waiting for a scan afterwards. Like all MRI, it uses a magnetic field and radio waves instead of X-rays, so it adds no ionising radiation. It is especially valuable for delicate tumour surgery, where seeing the result in real time can improve the outcome.