About MRI

Dr. Stark’s brain!

introduction to mri

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a very safe methodology, which uses a powerful magnetic field, radio waves and a computer to produce detailed pictures of the brain and other cranial structures that are clearer and more detailed than other imaging methods. MRI does not use ionizing radiation (e.g. x-rays).

Why we do MRI

We take detailed pictures of your brain while you rest as well as while you do a task. We are interested in the areas of your brain (structure) and how the areas of your brain work together to do tasks (function).

our Mri

We have a 3 Tesla MRI system made by Siemens. It is located in our Psychological and Brain Sciences Department, 1101 E 10th Street. We’ll provide you with more detailed instructions when you schedule to participate.

What you will do in the MRI

For the first five minutes, we will take a detailed picture of your brain. Then, you will participate in a few tasks, which we will go over outside of the scanner. After this, you will be allowed to relax and close your eyes as we take more detailed pictures. The entire scan lasts just under an hour.

MRI Safety

When you come to our lab, we’ll give you an MRI screening form to fill out. You’ll also be asked about possible contraindications (e.g. things that might not be ideal to go into an MRI) when we do pre-screening. MRI is a very safe methodology and it remains safe because we, as trained operators of the scanner, take precautions against undue risk. For example, we will carefully identify any metal that you may have in or around your body. Not all metal implants are safe for an MRI, and we verify this before we schedule you for a scan. We also make sure that you take all of the metal off of your person prior to entering the scanner room. There are always two individuals in the scanner operating room, both trained in safety of MRI scanning. Dr. Stark has been doing MRI scans since 2012.

While the MRI is safe, some adverse events occur, albeit rarely. Sometimes, heating of skin can happen. This typically occurs when the skin is in contact with metal, or when there is metal in tattoos or a piece of metal has not been taken off of your person. As described above, we take great precautions to make sure that you are MRI safe before entering the scanner. Should we find anything that looks out of the ordinary on your brain scan, we are obligated to send the scan to the IU Health radiologists. We call these ‘incidental findings.’ We will not be privy to those results; radiologists will contact you directly. Should we find something out of the ordinary such as this, we will tell you and we will stop the scan. This is, again, a rare occurrence.

What to expect when you come for the MRI

It is best to wear comfortable clothes without metal (e.g. bra without underwire, loose clothing). You’ll meet one of our lab members ahead of the scan to go over any questions you have as well as the tasks you’ll be doing in the scanner. You’ll then be asked to fill out another MRI safety screening form and the operator of the scanner will go over this form with you to ensure that you are safe to enter the scanner room. You’ll leave any removable metal objects (e.g. wallet, phone, belt) outside of the scanner in a safe place.

In the scanner: You will lie down on your back on a bed and a head coil will be placed over your face and head. This is the radio signal, by which we get very crisp pictures of your brain (see photo on right). The bed will then be raised and slowly pushed back into what we call a bore, i.e. the entrance of the scanner. Your body above your knees will be in this scanner bore. You’ll be equipped with a squeeze button, which you can press to alert us of any issue or any question. We have an intercom system with which we’ll talk to you throughout. You’ll wear ear protection and your head will be surrounded by styrofoam to dampen the noise and to make sure your head stays in the same position throughout the scan. You will also be given a leg rest to make lying on your back more comfortable. Scans are very susceptible to movement, so we ask that you remain very still when scanning is occurring. You will also receive a response device (e.g. buttons to press) for when you are asked to do the tasks that you practiced outside of the scanner.

It is typical for the scanner to make loud sounds as it takes pictures of your brain as well as the bed to slightly move throughout the scan. The sound and movement will change dependent on the type of image that we’re acquiring. This is all very typical. Some people report feeling ‘tingles’ throughout some scans, though this is rare. If, at any point, you should be uncomfortable, you are encouraged to press the squeeze ball. You will be provided a CD of your brain scan at the end of the session. We keep all brain scans on file for at least seven years, as per our Institutional Review Board obligation - therefore, should you ever need to send these brain scans to a neurologist or similar medical provider, please reach out to us and we will facilitate this process.

Helpful multimedia about MRI

A quick video showing one kind of brain scan we acquire from the MRI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LupvsT87Ec

More about MRI, including safety considerations (removing metal from your body, etc): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkmfQOET4pc

*** bear in mind we go in head-first, as we are only interested in taking pictures of the brain.

While this webpage is meant to be kid-friendly, it has great, easy to understand information about MRI: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/mri-brain.html