MRI SESSION - $600
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An MRI scan, short for magnetic resonance imaging, is a safe, painless and non-invasive technique used for taking detailed pictures of any part of the body. This gift enables a patient suffering from severe mental illness to receive full MRI testing, which will help staff at the Brain Dynamics Centre to better diagnose and treat the patient's illness.
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(In the event that this gift is overstocked or no longer needed, we will use your gift to purchase something of equal value and usefulness, to the same people.)
How MRI helps people with mental illnesses
Dr Mayuresh Korgaonkar is the Senior Imaging Scientists at the Westmead Millennium Institute's Brain Dynamics Centre. Here, he explains how MRI is used to identify and treat mental illnesses.
"The usual perception is that psychiatric illnesses are fundamentally different from common medical disorders. The main reason for this is because there is a limited understanding of how the physiological substrate of the human brain generates the mind or the behavioral patterns seen with mental disorders," Dr Korgaonkar says.
"Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays an enormous role in understanding how these signs and symptoms, seen with psychiatric illnesses, relate to specific parts or structures of the brain and brain function abnormalities. More importantly, MRI allows these assessments in a completely non-invasive manner.
"Our efforts at the Brain Dynamic Centre are to use these cutting edge MRI techniques to better understand how the human brain is affected with mental illnesses.
"During the past decade, we have identified different imaging markers which relate to signs and symptoms of a number of mental illnesses like schizophrenia, early onset psychosis, major depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders.
"Some of our current efforts are dedicated towards providing a better understanding of how these imaging markers may predict how a particular patient profile may respond to a particular treatment.
"This knowledge will be crucial to aid clinicians in catering personalised treatments in the future, providing effective patient management which will ultimately save costs to both the patient and the healthcare system."
Gift card
When you purchase one of the gifts in this catalogue, we will email you a card like the one above. Inside, the card explains the wonderful benefits that will flow from your generosity, so that anyone who receives this gift can understand the difference they - and you - are making.