Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a type of scan that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body. An MRI scanner is a large tube that contains powerful magnets and you lie inside the tube during the scan.

The images are generated using superconducting magnets and pulsed radio waves. Magnetic resonance imaging uses non ionising radiation, unlike x-rays which uses radiation.

MRI scanning has become the investigative method of choice for many neurological and musculoskeletal conditions and is used in all areas of the body. It helps identify problems in soft tissue in particular – nerves, muscles, ligaments and tendons. For example, MRI scanning is widely used to investigate the brain, heart, bones, joints, breasts and other organs such as lungs and the liver.

MRIs have been in use since the early 1980s and have no known side-effects, however, getting an MRI scan is not suitable for everyone. Here is a list of things you MUST tell nurses before having an MRI scan:

• If you are (or might be) pregnant
• Have a heart pacemaker or an artificial heart valve
• Have any electro-mechanical devices used for drug delivery
• Have any surgical clips
• Have a cochlear implant, a neurostimulator or a programmable hydrocephalus shunt
• Have had any operations on your head
• Have any metal implant in your body
• Have had an injury to your eyes involving metal or metal fragments

These questions are asked to take the necessary precautions and possibly direct you to having an X-ray to make sure that there are no metal fragments or particles present in your body. This is because the MRI scanning magnet can exert a pull on small fragments of metal. So if there is a possibility that you might have metal fragments in your eyes or elsewhere, as a result of an injury or from working with metal at high speeds, you must mention it as such metal fragments can remain unchanged for many years. This information MUST be shared regardless of how long ago a possible injury or incident might have occurred.

If you need to go for an MRI, visit us on www.doctorc.in or call us on 040-30911054to book your appointment today.