You might not have to undress if your clothing doesn’t have any metal, such as zips or clips. When you arrive at the scanning department, the radiographer might ask you to change into a hospital gown. Tell the department staff beforehand if you think you’re pregnant. But as a precaution, you usually won’t have one during the first 3 months of your pregnancy. Your doctor can give you medicine to help you relax if you need to.Īn MRI is generally safe during pregnancy. The hospital staff can take extra care to make sure you’re comfortable and that you understand what’s going on. Contact the department before your test if you’re likely to feel like this. Some people feel claustrophobic or closed in when they’re having an MRI scan. You can still have an MRI scan if you have some metals in your body, but your doctor and radiographer decide if it’s safe for you. Tell the scanner staff about any metals in your body. metal fragments anywhere in your body – for example from an injury, dental fillings and bridges.pacemakers or an implantable defibrillator (to treat abnormal heart rhythms).whether you have any metal implants or other metals in your bodyĪn MRI scan uses strong magnetism which could affect any metal in your body.We have information about having a CT scanīefore you go to your appointment, or when you arrive, you fill in a safety checklist.Your doctor might suggest you have a CT scan instead of an MRI scan if this happens. For example, you may not be able to have an MRI scan if you have metal fragments in your body. Some people can't have MRI scans for any reason.

functional MRI scans (fMRI) that can pick up brain activityĭuring a functional MRI scan, the radiographer will ask you to do certain things such as move your hand, tap your fingers or speak.perfusion MRI scans that look at the blood flow in different parts of the brain.magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) which looks at the chemicals in the tumour.You may also have some specialised MRI scans. It can help to find where the tumour is and whether it has spread. You usually have an MRI scan to help diagnose a brain or spinal cord tumour. MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging. MRI scans produce pictures from angles all around the body and show up soft tissues very clearly. An MRI is a type of scan that creates pictures using magnetism and radio waves.

How long does an mri of the brain take