Kenneth Ellman

MRI Made Easy

MRI Made Easy by Govind B Chavhan is a interesting and useful pocketbook first published in India in 2007. I have owned it for many years. There now appears to be a 2nd edition published in 2013 by Jaypee Brothers Medical Pub. It is interesting to get the perspective of a Radiologist from India who trained at KEM Hospital, Mumbai, Lilavati Hospital and Jankharia Imaging. It appears he is now located in Toronto, Canada at the Hospital for Sick Children. This is a short small book of 259 pages, which can easily fit in a pocket. It comes with a small CD Rom. It contains necessary topics for an introduction such as Basic Principles, T1,T2 Relaxation etc., Instrumentation, Sequences, Artifacts, Safety, Interpretation, etc. A nice simple introduction to MRI.
Other reviewers have pointed out some language difficulty of the author. While this is written in “Indian English” in the sense that perhaps there are some minor errors that a native English speaking American or Canadian might not make, I cannot agree that it takes anything away from the book. In fact I think it adds to the book as a reminder that the author is in fact from India, not North America. I have not found any such “English” language errors to impair the use of this simple pocketbook. Another reviewer has indicated that the description of proton alignment rather than the magnetic moment alignment is a serious error. While it is an error in technical description in that it does not address the fact that the subject placed in the MRI is “magnetized” etc., I am not sure that it matters for the subject matter of this book. As stated in LONI: “The proton nuclei of the hydrogen atom possess a small magnetic moment. When placed within a magnetic field, a torque will be exerted upon them, resulting in a slight energetic advantage of one orientation (parallel to the field) over another (the anti-parallel orientation). Over time, random atomic collisions and other perturbations allow the complete system to reach a magnetic and thermal equilibrium with an excess of protons aligned with the magnetic field. The combined alignment of all of these protons results in a net magnetic moment; a subject placed within a magnetic field thus becomes “magnetized.” BUT, does this really aid in interpretation of MRI Images for the average fellow? Certainly it must be understood, but the purpose of the Pocket Book should be to allow a non expert to view an MRI and understand what he is looking at and what to look for. In addition the vocabulary of MRI must be mastered to use this imaging. The Chavhan Book does that as a simple pocketbook. It is not a physics textbook and is not intended to be. It is not a world class exposition as Orrison Neuroimaging. I use Orrison, and The Requisites Series and other such books. So what? Chavhan is exactly what it intends to me “MRI Made Easy (For Beginners)” in 256 pages, an excellent pocketbook introduction for those who need and benefit from such. I might disagree with the Chavhan statement on page 114 that “Neurostimulators” are an absolute contraindication to MRI. A Vagus Nerve Stimulator with proper careful protocol, does not prevent an MRI. But again this is not a definitive work on MRI. Judge it as it was written and intended. Buy the Chavhan books and have some fun in your pocket, the Indian way. The question is when does Chavhan become a “Senior Sir”.
Kenneth Ellman, Box 18, Newton, New Jersey 07860, Email:ke@kennethellman.com