The Siemens 3T MRI Trio at the Abby Medical Center on Rt 4 looks like any other MRI scanner. It however has capabilities which surpass almost every other MRI scanner in the area. Many people have had an MRI but we specialize. MRI uses no ionizing radiation. Magnets and radiowaves cause parts of your body's individual hydrogen bonds to make a signal. A computer gathers these signals over time and reconstructs a picture from this. This is called acquiring k-space which is an imaginary mathematical representation of the scan. Using high speed computers we can reconstruct your images from the dataset. Rather than snapping a picture the MRI collects data for multiple images all at once. However it does not expect that you are moving. If you move during the scan this usually is reconstructed on all the images, even just from one motion during the scan. So the most important thing to remember is to stay still when the machine is scanning. Newer scan methods sample the image differently. A new technique called Propeller or BLADE snaps the image s with individual motion corrected blades of the image. This is used on our BEST OPEN (OPEN BORE) MRI unit. www.openboremri.com
This allows us to offer pediatric MRI without sedation. Using more and more BLADE imaging lets us extend MRI to the moving patient.
We allow you to wear your own clothes however.... you must follow our instructions. No metal buttons or snaps or clips. No staples. (Bra straps have metal clips and underwire bras are obviously forbidden). You can wear polo shirts, sweats, t-shirts or even non-metallic buttoned shirts) Pants should have no metal zippers. By the way metal in your hair or any removable metal or dentures needs to be taken off before you come to our facility. This saves you time.
When you enter our waiting room you will see that this is no ordinary MRI office. The waiting room (Zone 1) has been designed to be patient friendly. You have two internet kiosks and a printer so you can do work while waiting. You also have soda, coffee and tea if you want some. (Please make sure you are allowed to eat or drink before having a beverage.) For post contrast studies we recommend you do not eat for 3 hours prior to the exam. We have fluorescent light lenses which look like clouds in the ceiling to reduce any sense of claustrophobia. You have to fill out a 2 page information form. One of those pages is the MRI screening form. Links to these representative forms are at the bottom of this page so you can see ahead of time what to expect. But the actual forms have been updated.
You will be asked to change into a patient gown or into sweats. We recommend that you wear your own sweats so when you arrive you do not even have to change. Just remember to remove all your metal objects such as jewelry or piercings before you come to the office. Any metal brought into the scanner can potentially become a missile. The 3T magnet is very strong. (Twice as strong as most other magnets.) Stainless steel if it is good quality is actually non-magnetic. However if it is removable we still recommend that your remove it before your scan. Of course you will have to lock up your credit cards and wallet (or purse) in your changing room (Zone 2). If brought into the MRI scan room all the magnetic strips would be erased.
When you are changed you can either go back into the waiting room and use the internet kiosks, or watch a DVD while waiting in the zone 3 prescreened area. In zone three - are now completely screened and devoid of removable metal. You can wait there, lie on a stretcher, or enter back into patient waiting room (zone 1).
When we are ready to do your scan - you will enter Zone 4 - which is the scan room. You will be asked to lie on a comfortable table. The table slowly enters the scanner - after the tech landmarks the area to be scanned. When the scan begins you will hear many different series of banging. These are different pulse sequences. At least three pulse sequences should be performed but in many instances we will do four or five series. The loud banging is a side effect of the gradients which vibrate during the generation of the complex radiowaves used in the scan. It does sound like a jackhammer.
We give you ear protection from the banging. We have special headphones which can play music or the audio from a movie for instance. We also give ear protection to anyone who wishes to stay in the room. Depending on the study you might be able to watch a movie during your study.
You must lie perfectly still during the banging noise. If you move you will get blurred images not on a single image but on all the images being acquired all at once. We do not generally snap a single image at a time. We take multiple images in a dataset over many minutes. So moving even for a second can potentially spoil all the images at once.
Sometimes in the middle of the exam we will come into the room and give you an injection (in your veins) of a very safe drug called Prohance (tm). This is the safest drug known to man with a severe reaction rate of 1 in 20 million. It is about 2000 times safer than penicillin. In my 20 year experience I have seen only two major reactions - which were actually only mild - hives. Other minor reactions like nausea or vomiting are more common. These can occur in up to 10 percent of patients.
Before your exam do not eat for 3 hours. This is a precaution so there will be little food in your stomach, just in case we decide in the middle of your study that you need Gadolinium contrast. Of course this sometimes can't be given if your insurance requires pre-authorization.
We want you to be comfortable for your exam.
If you are very anxious you should let your doctor know. We can schedule a massage or spa treatment before your exam at added cost. We can schedule valium IV which can be given by a physician during your exam. We can also schedule general anesthesia performed by an outpatient anesthesiologist if we can arrange all the proper authorizations. We do have oxygen and suction in the scan room. This is very unusual in outpatient facilities but we want to provide the very best care for our patients.
To call to ask us questions our phone number is 302-295-3367 . If you are claustrophobic ask for BEST OPEN MRI. We have the world's widest MRI, the world's most spacious MRI with the latest software.
