What If I Move During An MRI?

Anticipation before an MRI is common!

During this time you might wonder – ‘What if I move during an MRI?’

Even though MRIs are usually painless and safe, keeping yourself still throughout the scan is crucial to getting high-quality images. 

Voluntary or involuntary movement can impact the quality of MRI pictures, sometimes resulting in missed diagnoses, repeated scans, or incorrect results. 

Let’s discuss the significance of being motionless during an MRI, the consequences of moving, the kinds of movement that can impair imaging, and techniques for assisting patients in maintaining composure throughout the procedure!

Why Is It Important to Remain Motionless During An MRI? 

Your ability to stay still during the scan affects the quality of the MRI images. 

MRI machines take pictures over minutes, as opposed to seconds for CT scans or X-rays. It captures several scans from different perspectives, which are analysed to produce a cross-sectional picture of the body. 

Images produced by the MRI scanner may need to be more clear since it can detect even minute motions.

Images may appear hazy or duplicated if you move since the scanner gathers mixed data from various body areas. 

Therefore, movement adds “artefact” (or noise) to the images, which can make it more difficult for radiologists to understand them and diagnose abnormalities correctly.

What Are The Movement Types That May Impact MRI Images?

During an MRI, movement can take many distinct forms, and each has a unique effect on image quality:

• Voluntary Movement

Any intentional movement by the patient, such as shifting positions, scratching an itch, or altering head or body orientation is a voluntary movement. 

Images with more visible distortions or blurring are typically the result of such movement. 

Small changes, such as shifting your head or feet, might occasionally cause artefacts in the photos.

• Involuntary Movement

Although more difficult for patients to control, involuntary movements like breathing, heartbeat, or twitching muscle twitches impact the quality of an MRI. 

While the heart beats continually, certain bodily areas, such as the chest and belly, naturally move when you breathe. Although these effects can be reduced by specialised imaging methods such as cardiac gating or breath-hold sequences, involuntary movements can still be problematic.

• Movement Caused by Anxiety or Discomfort

Being inside an MRI machine can cause anxiety or discomfort for many people! 

Because patients are frequently kept in a tiny tube for the scan, sometimes for as long as an hour, claustrophobia is a common worry. 

Additionally, some patients may become agitated and startled by the MRI machine’s loud noises. 

Take care of these issues beforehand to enhance your comfort!

• Unintentional Changes

Patients might not be conscious of the small movements they make. 

Muscle tiredness or an unpleasant body position during the scan may be the cause of these minute movements. 

Even such tiny motions can have an impact on MRI results, particularly when it comes to brain or spinal imaging, where accuracy is crucial.

What If I Move During An MRI?

Let’s discuss the most common question patients have before the scan – ‘What if I move during an MRI?’

There are several possible outcomes from movement during the procedure:

• Image Distortion and Blurring

Image blurring is the most obvious effect of moving during an MRI. Radiologists find it challenging to interpret scans when images are blurry. 

Distortion may affect important information for identifying diseases like tumours, lesions, or structural anomalies. Missed diagnoses or the need for further scans to get clear images may arise from this!

• Repeat Scans

A second scan might be required if a movement has lowered the quality of the images! 

The entire diagnostic process is thus prolonged. Therefore, this adds to the patient’s time and expense. 

Even though MRIs don’t use radiation like CT scans or X-rays do, repeating the scan exposes you to the magnetic field of the machine more. Repeated scans can still be costly for medical facilities and inconvenient for patients.

• Inaccurate Diagnosis

A distorted or fuzzy MRI image may not accurately show the underlying pathology, which could cause trouble. 

In some situations, this can result in inaccurate diagnoses and postpone appropriate treatment. 

For instance, a fuzzy MRI scan may not show brain lesions or minor structural problems in the spinal cord, which could cause major medical diseases to go unnoticed.

What Are The Strategies To Reduce Movement?

Many MRI facilities use techniques to help patients stay as still as possible during the scan because it’s important:

• Patient Instruction

Several MRI centres offer pre-scan instruction to help patients understand the procedure and the significance of remaining motionless. 

Patients can feel less anxious and be more motivated to remain still throughout the scan if they know what to anticipate! 

The radiologist frequently offers patients preparation tips, such as to dress comfortably and abstain from caffeine before the scan.

• Use of Restraints and Positioning Aids

To help stabilise particular body parts during some scans, technicians may employ positioning aids including straps, cushions, and pillows. 

Promoting comfort and reducing involuntary movements lessen the chance of motion.

• Breath-Hold Techniques

The radiologist may ask the patient to hold their breath for short periods to minimise movements during chest and abdominal MRIs. 

Patients can enable the scanner to take sharper pictures by holding their breath, particularly during crucial scan segments.

• Sedation for Anxious Patients

The radiologist may provide light sedation to patients who experience anxiety or claustrophobia. 

Patients can stay calm and motionless by using sedatives to help them relax. Radiologists give sedation to patients as the last option!

• Using Earplugs or Listening to Music

MRI machines are infamous for making loud noises that might be disturbing. 

Patients can stay still and feel more at ease by using earplugs or headphones with relaxing music to help filter out the noise.

Conclusion:

Now that you know the answer to – ‘What if I move during an MRI?’ you need not worry anymore!

There are several ways to help people stay still during an MRI, even though moving can affect image quality and perhaps affect the diagnosis. 

Creating a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere is essential to getting good photos.

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