The term MRI means for magnetic resonance imaging. MRI allows the physician to examine the internal parts of the patient’s body and to view them as three-dimensional images.
MRI can produce very detailed pictures of the body, so it is more efficient than CT scanning, X-ray or ultrasound scanning.5
MRI is especially useful for scanning the brain, the spine and the joints.5
The MRI scanner uses radio waves and a strong magnet to produce the images.5
The scanner forms the images from different angles, which helps create a detailed picture and provide the most detail.
PREPARING FOR THE SCAN
To help your child successfully undergo the MRI scan and to obtain quality images, it is recommended that parents and guardians remain in the MRI room and help the child before and after the scan.
Upon arrival, please notify the radiography department and indicate the scheduled time of your scan.
Before scanning, please complete the safety questionnaire given to you by the nurse in the radiography department. Additional preparation, such as checking for metal, might be necessary.
If your child was prescribed to have an MRI scan under sedation or general anesthetic, please ensure that he or she does not have any food or milk for at least 4.5 hours before the scan and no water for at least 2 hours before the scan.2
Please ensure that your child's clothes do not have zippers, metal clips or other metal elements. Otherwise, your child might have to change clothes and wear a hospital gown.
Please ensure that your child leaves all metallic objects, such as jewelry, pens, metal toys, pins, etc. outside the MRI room.4
If you are planning to accompany your child into MRI room, please leave all of your metallic objects and items outside.
If your child has any artificial elements, for example, metal implants, dental braces, a heart pacemaker or metal fragments in the body, please notify your physician and radiographer.4 If you are planning to accompany your child into the MRI room and you have any artificial elements, please notify the radiographer.
Please remove any medication patches from your child and yourself before entering the MRI room.
The nurse will invite your child to lie on the scanner table, which looks like a bed.
Your child will be asked to wear a coil over the part of the body that should be scanned.
After the child is correctly placed on the scanner table, the radiographer will move the table inside the scanner and proceed to the MRI control room.
During the scan, the MRI machine produces a loud knocking sound. Your child will have ear protectors to protect his or her comfort.
Some MRI scanners have music or video systems, so you are welcome to bring your child's favorite CD or DVD.3
MRI SAFETY
MRI is very safe by design. The magnets used in the scanner, as well as radio waves, are absolutely safe for human beings. No ionizing radiation is used5 and the scan is completely painless.
MRI scanning is even allowed for pregnant women, with some precautions.5
THE NEED TO USE MRI
Physicians recommend MRI scanning when they need detailed images of the patient’s body parts or the whole body.
This information is often critically important for designing and planning the child's treatment.
Existing alternatives include X-ray, CT scan and ultrasound scan.5 However, these imaging methods do not give such detailed images, so MRI is preferable.
If there are contraindications to MRI, such as foreign elements in the body, please discuss alternatives with your physician.
STAYING WITH YOUR CHILD
We encourage you to stay with your child in the MRI room. You will need to fill out the safety questionnaire and follow the precautions mentioned in the "Preparing for the scan" section of this brochure.
If you are a woman in the first trimester of pregnancy, please inform the radiographer and the nurse so that they can make additional preparations.
PRECAUTIONS
Please ensure that all people present in the MRI room fill out the safety questionnaire. The questionnaire includes items about each person's medical history and the presence of artificial elements in his or her body.
Please ensure that all people remaining in the MRI room remove all metal objects, including body piercings, medical devices such as nerve stimulators, medication patches, etc. Metal objects can affect the quality of the scan, possibly causing it to produce fuzzy images.1
Please leave all electronic devices and gadgets outside the MRI room; the same applies to jewelry, credit cards and other external objects.3 Please note that people willing to stay in the MRI room will have to remove any clothes that have metal elements.
AFTER THE SCAN
The scan may take between 20 and 90 minutes, depending on the child and on the purpose of the scan.3
If your child did not have the MRI scan under sedation or general anesthesia, you may return home immediately after the scan.
If your child was scanned under sedation or general anesthesia, the nurse will take your child to the recovery room for monitoring until he or she wakes up.2 After that, you will be invited into the recovery room.
The radiographer will forward the results of the scan to your physician. Please contact the physician if you would like to know the details of the scan.
References
1. Adrian M. MRI: understanding its limitations [Internet]. 2005 [cited 2014 Nov 8]; 47, No. 7, p. 359+61-61. Available from: http://www.bcmj.org/article/mri-understanding-its-limitations
2. Amin S, Mazhar H, Heaton P. MRI/CT scan under sedation in children. Pediatric Research. 2011;70(S5):145. doi:10.1038/pr.2011.370
3. Burghart G, Finn CA. Handbook of MRI scanning. Elsevier Health Sciences; 2012.
4. Dill T. Contraindications to magnetic resonance imaging: non-invasive imaging. Heart (British Cardiac Society). 2008;94(7):943. doi: 10.1136/hrt.2007.125039
5. Bestic JM. MR imaging of the body. American Journal of Roentgenology. 2009;193(5):W465-W.
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