Lumbar disc disease
In symptomatic cases the diagnosis should be confirmed by an MRI scan. However, in cases with slight symptoms, a faster and cheaper CT scan (although it is inferior to MRI scan) may be recommended. While a CT scan can show the bony structures in more detail, an MRI scan can better portray soft tissue.
Interventional magnetic resonance imaging
Because of the lack of harmful effects on the patient and the operator, MR is well suited for "interventional radiology", where the images produced by an MRI scanner are used to guide a minimally-invasive procedure intraoperatively and/or interactively. Interventional MRI can be used for a variety of specialized procedures. iMRI systems are often used for doing biopsies of lesions, resections of tumors, guiding thermal ablation of tissue, as well as other procedures. It is commonly used in neurosurgery where every millimeter of tissue spared in surgery can make a difference for patient recovery.