Home | MRI | Your Visit | Special Conditions
Special Conditions
MRI technology depends upon magnetic resonance for imaging. The scanner is constructed to house a large magnetic tube. Patients lie on a comfortable table and pass into the tube to be scanned. Because MRI scanners utilize cross-section, multiple-slice imaging, patients also must remain very still to ensure the best quality imaging.
While patients experience no invasive procedures and no pain, some people with larger body types, or who are claustrophobic, as well as young children may experience difficulty either fitting comfortably inside the tube, or staying still.
As part of Shields mission to respect the comfort of our patients, our network is now equipped with 1.5 Tesla High Field Open MRI systems. High Field Open MRI provides an alternative for patients who cannot be scanned in traditional "high-field" scanners. Our newest MRI scanner, a Siemen’s Magnatom Espree 1.5T unit features an opening of 2.3 feet in diameter and almost one foot of free space between a patient’s head and the magnet. The Espree allows more than 60 percent of exams to be completed with the patient’s head outside of the bore. Small children may even sit inside it. High Field Open MRI is available at most of our centers.
