Information for Patients

For an MRI of the head, you will lie with your head inside a special machine that has a strong magnet.  The MRI can show tissue damage or disease, such as infection, inflammation or tumour.  It can also show stroke and haemorrhages and is often used to look for the cause of headaches. Furthermore, it can show the vessels and their anatomy.

In some instances, a dye may be used during the MRI scan to show pictures of structures more clearly. 

No special dietary preparation is required for the scan, so you may eat and drink normally and continue with any prescribed medication. It is important that there is no metal on your clothing, so if possible please try and come to your appointment wearing leisure clothes, for example tracksuit, leggings, etc. If this is not possible, changing facilities and hospitals gowns are available.

You will be asked to remove any jewellery, hairpins, eyeglasses, watches, wigs, dentures, hearing aids or underwire bras.

An MRI is a very safe procedure, but patients with heart pacemakers and certain surgical implants cannot be scanned.  You will be asked questions regarding this before your scan to make sure that it is safe for you to be scanned in one of our scanners.  You will be asked if you have one of the following:

• Metallic joint prostheses

• Artificial heart valves

• Implantable heart defibrillator

• Pacemaker

• Metal clips

• Cochlear implants

• A bullet, shrapnel or any other type of metal fragment.

If you cannot have an MRI scan, there are alternatives:  CT and ultrasound scans are possible as well. 

Sometimes we need to give you an injection of contrast dye before the scan.  This contains a substance called gadolinium, which some people are allergic to.  Very rarely can it cause an allergic reaction with is similar to hay fever.  We also will be checking your kidney function since the dye is eliminated from the body through the kidneys.  In certain, yet very rare instances this may cause damage to the kidneys.

When you arrive, report to X-ray Central Reception, a member of staff will check your details and go over the safety screening list with you. You will be asked to remove all loose metal objects such as watches, jewellery and credit cards - a locker will be provided.

You will then be taken into the scan room and the radiographer will ask you to lie on the scanner bed and position you correctly.  The scanner is a large cylinder with a hollow space running through the middle which is open at both ends. Your head will be fixated in a brace in order to obtain the best images.  This has mirrors affixed to it so you are able to look out of the scanner.

Once you are in the scanner, the radiographer will go into the adjoining room where the control equipment is located. There is a large window, and the radiographers see you throughout the whole examination. Also, you always have an "alert button" that gives a signal to the radiographer if there is a problem, but we will try to make you as comfortable as possible for the length of the scan

You will need to keep very still during the scan to avoid blurring the images. Sometimes there are periods of time where the scanner is quiet, but we ask you to try to keep still during these times as well. The scan is completely painless.  Patients report that the most difficult part is keeping still. Others report problems with the loud, banging noise and other still about the narrowness of the tunnel.  However, we will give you headphones to reduce the noise.  If you wish, you may bring a CD to be played during the examination.

The scan will take between 30 and 60 minutes.

Once the scan is completed, you may get dressed and leave.  It is safe for you to drive, provided you had not had any sedation. You may eat and drink normally.

The results of your examination will not be given to you on the same day, but you will be told how to get the results. A copy of the report will be forwarded to your consultant, and he/she will discuss the results with you.