What will I experience during the MRI examination?

You will most likely be lying on a special table that moves into the center of the magnet. Prior to going into the magnet you will be offered earplugs to reduce the noise that you hear. You will then hear some "hammering" noises while the scanner is preparing for scanning and taking the pictures. During this hammering noise, it is important not to move, as this would blur the pictures.

You may also feel some vibration during the hammering noise and some slight movement of the table during the examination.   Some patients will be given an injection in their arm of a substance that improves certain types of pictures. This substance, called a "contrast agent", is very safe and is unrelated to the iodine used for CAT scans and kidney x-rays.