Has your physician referred you for a magnetic resonance imaging test (MRI)? Your health care team may need more information before finalizing a diagnosis for your puzzling symptoms. An MRI can help detect health issues as diverse as a stroke, tumor, musculoskeletal issue, and even heart disease.
Our board-certified radiologists at REDI Diagnostics Corp in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, treat you with professionalism and respect from start to finish during your MRI procedure. If this is your first MRI, there’s no need to worry. It’s a safe, painless test. The following is a broad overview of what you can expect before and during your scan.
First, you complete a questionnaire on your medical history. We need to know if you have any metal implants in your body, such as a pacemaker, screws, plates, or pins. Because the MRI uses a strong magnet, it’s important to remove any metal from your body before the procedure.
We ask you to change clothes and put on a hospital gown for the test. You can leave on cotton underpants. Our facility contains storage lockers where you can store your street clothes and valuables during the test.
You may want to leave jewelry at home. We provide a list of items to remove before the test, including glasses, watches, dentures, wigs, hairpins, and more.
You lie on a flat table in your hospital gown. Your technician may start an IV if your doctor requests an MRI with contrast to better visualize tissues in your body.
Your technician explains the procedure. You need to lie very still on the table during the test so the images are clear. Take regular breaths in and out and stay calm.
You’ll likely hear a series of very loud noises during the test. The noise is intermittent and at times may sound like a jackhammer or a buzzsaw. You may hear loud tapping or thumping sounds.
To help distract you from the loud noise, we provide headphones and pipe in music if you like; you can pick the genre.
During the test, your technician is in an adjoining room where they can see and talk to you. Your technician lets you know during the test how much longer you have to go until the procedure is complete.
We give you a buzzer to push if you start to panic or feel unwell. Because this stops the test, we may need to start that segment over. We can also provide a sleep mask to help you feel more relaxed if you need.
We use a GE Healthcare 1.5 Tesla short and wide-bore MRI system, the latest state-of-the-art technology. A traditional MRI is a long tube-like structure open at both ends.
Our system is short and donut-shaped, so only the part of your body in question is actually under the machine. Even if you’re claustrophobic, many patients find they can complete the test more comfortably with this type of machine.
If you are claustrophobic, you may want to ask your doctor for a mild sedative to take before the scan to help you relax.
If you didn’t take a sedative before your scan, you can resume your normal day after the procedure. If you did take a sedative, we require you to have a family member or friend drive you home.
We provide a prompt and thorough report to your doctor. Your doctor can use the information from your MRI to guide the next steps in your care.
Call REDI Diagnostics Corp at 201-773-4255 or book an appointment online today if you need an MRI.
