What Happens During an MRI?

All metallic objects on the body are removed prior to obtaining an MRI scan for reasons of saftey and image quality. It's important during MRI scanning that the patient lie still for best accuracy. A medication may be prescribed for ease of relaxation. Communication with the MRI technologist is maintained throughout the test. There are loud, repetitive clicking and knocking noises which occur during the test as the scanning proceeds. The MRI scanning time depends on the exact area of the body studied, but ranges from half an hour to an hour.