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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

how to prepare and what to expect from your MRI

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides cross-sectional images of the spine and brain. Instead of using x-rays or other forms of radiation, MRI uses a powerful magnet, radio waves, and a computer to scan the body and produce detailed images of soft tissue in the central nervous system, including nerves in the brain and spine and the ligaments and disks that support your spine. These images, displayed on films, help physicians diagnose many neurological disorders and develop an effective treatment plan.

How to Prepare

Sometime before your exam, your CINN Outpatient Center nurse will contact you to ask a number of questions in order to ensure that an MRI is a safe procedure for you. On the day of your test, you will be asked to fill out a questionnaire that contains the same questions, just as a precaution. Please arrive about 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment to fill out this questionnaire.

Do not wear makeup or anything metallic to the test, such as jewelry or hair clips.

You might receive a sedative to help you relax during this procedure. As a precaution, please arrange for a friend or family member to drive you home.

You may eat and drink as usual and remain active right up until the time of your appointment.

What to Expect

Once you are settled in your room, you will be asked to disrobe and put on a hospital gown. For your safety, you will be asked to remove any jewelry, watches, dentures, partial plates, hearing aids, and hair clips before your MRI scan. Please leave all valuables at home.

Next you will be taken to the MRI examination room, where an MRI technologist will help you onto a narrow table. You will be positioned on your back with your arms at your sides and your head in a headrest.

Any movement during the test can make the MRI images blurry. Therefore, the technologist might place bands around your head and body to help you keep still. When everything is ready, the table will automatically slide into a long, hollow, cylindrical chamber. You will not experience pain or unusual feelings of any kind. You will, however, hear intermittent banging and thumping sounds produced by the magnetic field at work, which can be quite noisy. The technologist will provide earplugs for your hearing protection. An intercom system allows you to converse with the technologist, if necessary.

If requested by your physician, the technologist may inject a contrast solution into your body via an intravenous (IV) line during your test. The contrast solution makes the soft tissue in your brain and spinal cord more visible on the MRI films.

The MRI scan is painless and takes 30 to 90 minutes. After the MRI is completed, the technologist will help you off the table and assist you with your personal belongings.

If you received a sedative to help you relax during your procedure, you must have a family member or friend drive you home. You may resume your normal activities immediately, unless you are still drowsy from the sedative. In that case, you will need to rest.

Additional Instructions

If you have a pacemaker, artificial heart valves, ear implants, surgical clips, joint or bone clips, or metal plates, or if you even suspect you have anything else metallic in your body, such as unremoved bullets, shrapnel, or a BB shot, tell your CINN physician before undergoing the MRI. These materials may interfere with the examination and could even cause you injury. (Metallic dental fillings, however, do not pose a risk.)

Also, tell your CINN physician if you are pregnant or have a history of claustrophobia (fear of closed-in places). If you are claustrophobic, you will be given a prescription for a sedative prior to your appointment. Please be sure to take the medication as directed on the container.