Melanoma Patients Australia - What's it like to have a MRI?

What's it like to have a MRI?

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is primarily used in medical imaging to visualize the structure and function of the body. It provides detailed images of the body in any plane. MR has much greater soft tissue contrast than computed tomography (CT) making it especially useful in neurological, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and oncological imaging.

Modern 3 tesla clinical MRI scanner. Unlike CT it uses no ionizing radiation, but uses a powerful magnetic field to align the magnetization of hydrogen atoms in the body. Radio waves are used to systematically alter the alignment of this magnetization, causing the hydrogen atoms to produce a rotating magnetic field detectable by the scanner. This signal can be manipulated by additional magnetic fields to build up enough information to reconstruct an image of the body.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy is used to measure the levels of different metabolites in body tissues. The MR signal produces a spectrum of resonances that correspond to different molecular arrangements of the isotope being "excited". This signature is used to diagnose certain metabolic disorders, especially those affecting the brain, as well as to provide information on tumor metabolism.

Sagittal MR image of the knee Magnetic resonance imaging was developed from knowledge gained in the study of nuclear magnetic resonance. In its early years the technique was referred to as nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI). However, as the word nuclear was associated with ionizing radiation exposure it is generally now referred to simply as MRI.

Scientists still use the term NMRI when discussing non-medical devices operating on the same principles. One of the contributers to modern MRI, Paul Lauterbur, originally named the technique zeugmatography, a Greek term meaning "that which is used for joining". The term referred to the interaction between the static and the gradient magnetic fields necessary to create an image, but unsurprisingly this term was not adopted.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mri

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4 Comments

4Comment
at Monday, 31 August 2009 14:49by Client1501

Time is a factor. My husband, who was mildly claustrophobic, had a couple of MRIs of his brain, less than 30 minutes, and tolerated them, even though the noise was awful.

Then he had a full body scan (lumbar and spinal and brain mets) and he was in there for TWO HOURS which he wasn't told would be the case until he was on the bed. He was not given the sedative I had ordered three days earlier. I had some in my hand bag and was told 'too late'.

When he came out he was staring, literally speaking in tongues, making no sense, clawing, and had a mini seizure. Lost power in his legs and was admitted to hospital. I still don't know if the MRI caused the seizure, the stress of the procedure. He recovered but it was horrific.

I have not posted this to frighten you, but to warn that a small MRI on one area is one thing, and noisy, all that. Just be aware if you have a full body scan that you need to be fully informed of the time factor. If you are in there for two hours and that is going to be difficult for you INSIST that you have sedation.

3"Donna"
at Thursday, 16 October 2008 22:01by Client1115

True. no pain. noisy.I didn't find it much of a problem. The girls in the booth put music through the headphones.I could still hear the noise pretty loud so i asked them to "PUMP UP THE JAM", No prob,Just close your eyes,relax,listen to music and get the job done. Yes, about 20 minutes & ur done.True the contrast dye is nothing like the iodine. No probs there either.

2Comment
at Monday, 23 June 2008 09:22by Nat

Herman is right, not painful but noisy - think of bad 70's sci-fi sounds really loud. The injection with the dye if you have one isn't like the CT scan- no horrible taste or warm feeling.
Closing your eyes before you go in is the best way and if you can, take music - some places can play it through the headphones. Meditation and planning your cafe treat at the end definitely keeps the stress down.

1Comment
at Friday, 21 March 2008 14:20by Herman

I know that when I had my first MRI I found it to be very noisy, whilst I don't suffer from Claustrophobia I did find the feeling close to overwhelming. I recall using meditation to ease any discomfort and fear I felt during the process. I also found it important to listen to "the man in the booth" He would tell you how long each exposure was going to take and I would remind myself three minutes I can handle that. The total time in the tunnel for me was around twenty minutes and every minute that passed was a minute closer to getting out.
Summary - not painful just scary
Tip - close your eyes before you go in and keep them closed til you get out.
The power of meditation is strong I believe this is what got me through without hitting the panic button.