Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with mri

Plastic temporary body jewelry needed soon

jet_silver — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:35:21 -0800

Temporary body jewelry for MRI not found because of advances in gardening equipment. Help. I'm having an MRI on Tuesday to confirm diagnosis of a labral tear in my shoulder. My nipple rings have to come out for it, I believe - they are 10 ga 316LVM CBBs - and I'm looking for plastic temporaries. In the past I'd have used .100" weed whacker cord for this but all the modern weed whacker cord is not cylindrical - it has sharp edges, by design, and that makes it unappealing. Four piercing places nearby (Silicon Valley / Santa Cruz CA) claim they have no plastic jewelry in this gauge.

My favorite place for raw materials stock, McMaster-Carr. The only plastic rod they list in .100" diameter is carbon fiber which doesn't sound too appealing either.

Nipple piercings, even old ones, have a reputation for closing up abruptly, so I am not sure that doing without will work. These piercings are old (1991) and if I am wrong about this then please correct me.

Please help with ideas.

What chance does our cat have of recovery after seizures and coma?

geekgirl397 — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:37:06 -0800

Cat in recovery from suspected poisoning. Came out of post-seizure coma, now has suspected blindness, partial paralysis. What do we do next? We found our otherwise healthy 7-year-old cat unconscious on our (5th floor) back deck yesterday at 6.30am. Got her to the emergency room within a half hour. She was limp, unresponsive, pupils constricted almost to vanishing. Tests & X-rays showed no trauma, but hypothermia (low body temp) & hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) as well as shock. She had seizures, both before and after we found her.

After ~24 hours on a glucose drip, in an incubator, with supplemental oxygen, antibiotics (in case of undiagnosed infection), atropine (I think - some kind of antidote for an unknown poison), stomach pumping & ingestion of activated charcoal, she woke up and started eating, responding, moving.

HOWEVER, as of 3 hours post-coma, she still could not support herself on her back legs, and the vet suspected some neurological problems. We've taken her to a neurologist where she is awaiting a consult (while still on an IV). The intern who did see her thinks she may be blind, but i guess we'll know more when she's had a full workup.

This cat's recovery so far is just miraculous. We thought that she was a goner for sure, and I'm pretty certain so did the emergency vet practice, as there was a real sense of surprise & jubilation when we came to get her this morning.

I wonder if anybody else out there has had a cat go through seizures/unconsciousness and then had residual problems. Were they temporary, or permanent?

From the internet research I've done, it looks to me like neurological symptoms such as temporary blindness and paralysis are not uncommon post seizure. What I'd like to know is how soon we should be expecting a change.

We've been warned that the neurologist may want to do an MRI (at a cost of ~3K). We don't want to put our cat through anything unnecessary but we do want to give her the best chance. On the one hand, if, via the MRI, they found swelling putting pressure on nerves, spine or brain, that they could fairly simply surgically relieve, and therefore 'repair' - it might just be worth it. And I imagine we'd want to get this diagnosed & treated ASAP.

On the other hand, she was very, very, very ill and she's been making progress since waking up that you can literally measure by the hour, we strongly suspect is still in with a good chance of recovering on her own (or maybe with some anti inflammatories, steroids etc.). In the ~2 hours between leaving the first emergency vet office and being seen by the neurologist's intern, she had gone from being unable to use her back legs at all to being able to crawl a bit using them.

Anyone seen anything like this - an unidentified poison causing seizures and coma? What about recovery after seizures anyway - could we still be seeing "spontaneous" recovery days rather than minutes after the incident?

We don't want to put our cat through unnecessary pain & distress if it turns out she's unlikely to be able to be treated, or if treatment may not give her any quality of life. But we don't want to give up on her too early.

Any advice?

thanks!!

Where can I buy all-plastic or MRI safe prescription glasses in the UK.

empedia — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:26:36 -0800

Where can I buy all-plastic or MRI safe prescription glasses in the UK? I work in and around an MRI scanner and I wear glasses.

I've been into the scanner countless number of times in my current glasses right upto and inside the bore with no problem.

The other day I was at the back of the bore when I moved my head and suddenly one arm of my glasses snapped clean off and flew into the bore. I think it was probably from one of the screws as I'd tested the glasses previously with a magnet and they seemed fine.

Anyway I managed to get a replacement pair but I'm nervous now of going into the scanner so I've been trying to find some MRI safe glasses which I can wear when I'm in the scanner.

Most high street shops sell plastic glasses but they always have metal screws. Even titanium glasses which are MRI safe have screws which might contain iron or steel.

So is it possible to buy all-plastic or other MRI safe prescription glasses anywhere in the UK?

Thanks in advance for any/all suggestions.

Can our MRI machine be converted to Windows XP?

humannaire — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:58:17 -0800

Does anyone have any experience with a Philips Marconi Eclipse 1.5 MRI scanner? Can it be run from a Windows-based machine? Presently, our Philips Marconi Eclipse 1.5 MRI scanner is operated using a workstation running Red Hat Linux, and VIA 2.0 Scan Suite software.

The lack of compatibilty with other essential sofwares has become burdensome. The hoops which must be jumped through have become detrimental to routine work patterns, and have doubled related ordinary workloads.

Understanding the "failings and limitations" [sic] of XP, what we want to do now is switch to a Windows XP system, with which the rest of the 20 machines at our office and ALL of our providers are currently using.

Suggestions? Advisements? Recommendations?

Why do MRIs still take so long?

swngnmonk — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:34:07 -0800

Why do MRI's take so long? Just went in for an MRI of my knee (fingers crossed), and I noticed that MRI machines have gotten significantly smaller (this one was the size of a refrigerator). But the scanning process still took more than 30 minutes. So while I was sitting there, mind wandering, I started thinking - what is it about MRI's that take so long to complete?

Difficulty Level: I'm a computer guy through-and-through, I know the basics of how an MRI works, but I know nothing about the actual mechanics/engineering.

In the 20+ years since MRI's first became available, computers have increased in performance more than tenfold. Perhaps not as drastically, we have also seen huge improvements in robotics, image sensors, precision manufacturing, etc.

I'm assuming MRI scanners are significantly cheaper than they used to be - especially because you can now buy small units for individual body parts, rather than full-body scanners (in my case, the ONI OrthOne).

So what's the deal? Has performance (time) been held more or less constant while manufacturers focus on performance (size/image quality/price)? Or is there some kind of inherent barrier to speeding up MRI's?

Really curious as to any insights as to where MRI/scanning technology is headed.

DTI processing

sero_venientibus_ossa — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:36:18 -0800

MRI - what tools are currently favored for DTI data processing? I'm interested in which applications are currently favored in DTI postprocessing (image analysis and visualization). Thanks

It's what's inside that counts.

elektrotechnicus — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:53:29 -0800

I just had an MRI and MRA in response to these issues, and the radiologist's report should be relayed to me in a day or two. I've already had one normal CT scan. I received a copy of all the images from this scan - should I look at them? On the one hand, I have no medical training and if I'm not sure what if anything I could glean from looking. On the other hand, there is a ton of reference material on the web and I feel like I could at least reassure myself that there are no gross structural defects or abnormalities. Then again, if there were anything "obvious" it would have been seen on the CT, right?

If I do decide to look, what should I look for?

Insanely loud MRI -- why?

virga — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:51:16 -0800

Why are MRI's so freaking loud? I had to get an MRI today as a result of a car accident, and I was shocked at how incredibly loud it is while in the mangeto-tube. It sounded, and felt like, several jackhammers were going off all around me. Nothing like being in a confined space, strapped down, and having it sound like the entire machine is going to collapse around you.

Anyone have any information on why this happens?

Make It Stop

netbros — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:12:20 -0800

What can physicians do to "fix" a pinched nerve? The orthopedist thinks my shoulder and scapula pain and arm numbness may be caused by a pinched nerve in my neck, so I had a c-spine MRI this morning. Provided those reading the MRI do, in fact, detect a pinched nerve, what next? How can they make all the ouch go away?

Recovering from hospital-induced trauma

desjardins — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:17:03 -0800

How do you mentally recover from having been in the hospital, especially when you don't know what was wrong? My fiance woke me up last week and I couldn't move from the neck down. He called 911 and I was taken to the ER. I was admitted and spent the weekend in the hospital. There was initial uncertainty as to whether I'd had a spinal cord injury so it was emotionally difficult for me and everyone around me as we contemplated my being paralyzed. Three MRIs and an X-ray later, the spinal cord injury was definitively ruled out, and I'm able to move normally again. There is no explanation for what happened, and I was at the best hospital in the city with a large team of neurosurgeons. I'm not looking for speculation as to what happened; I say this to explain my mental state.

Physically, I am OK after all this. Emotionally, though, I am spent. I never felt like I would die, but I was afraid of being paralyzed not for myself but for the life my fiance would have to live, taking care of me. It was likewise difficult to see him so worried and tore up about me. There was also some family drama about who had power of attorney (I signed it over to my fiance since we'll be married in two months anyway).

The MRIs were very difficult for me as well. I'm not claustrophobic but I do have panic disorder and they had to stop one test when I started aspirating on my own vomit. The next day they wanted to run the whole test straight through and it took three hours. I was nearly catatonic afterwards. I still have tinnitus from the noise of the machine and I wake up fearing I'm still inside it. I'm also afraid to go to sleep for fear I'll wake up paralyzed.

What can I do to move on? I want to get "back to normal" but I feel like something's different now. Having no explanation, I fear it might happen again and I'm overreactive to the way my body feels. I've taken time off work, of course, but I will have to go back, and I don't want to talk about the experience. I would just like to forget it ever happened.

Is it possible to get an MRI and have it read, without a referral?

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:13:20 -0800

Is it possible to get an MRI and have it read, without a referral? Long story short: I was referred to a neurologist. The neurologist pressured me to get a CAT scan and a spinal tap to rule out a certain condition. I do not want to do this; I want an MRI instead. The condition we're talking about can be diagnosed equally effectively using an MRI.

A second neurologist also insists on the CAT scan/spinal tap combination. (They're both affiliated with the same hospital).

I want an MRI to rule out this one, specific condition.

Is it possible for me to get an MRI on my own and have it read, without going through these neurologists?

I live in New Jersey.

How to determine MRI risk without knowing what kind of stent you have.

lockedroomguy — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:08:25 -0800

Should my father be worried about having an MRI because he has a stent that was implanted after a heart attack? (It's supposed to happen in 12 hours!) My father has been waiting for an MRI (for what is probably a gall bladder problem) while the hospital/doctors sort out what kind of stent he has and whether there is any risk due to ferro-magnetic interaction.

The test has been delayed while this was sorted out. Today he received a phone call from the hospital saying that he was approved and the MRI is on for tomorrow. He asked how the approval was obtained, and the hospital told him that they spoke to his MD to get the details on his stent, and checked with the manufacturer.

However, he tried to call his MD to confirm, and found out that he is on vacation. He also tried to reach his cardiac surgeon, and he is also on vacation.

So that sounds a little worrying. However, the stent was implanted in 2003 at the same hospital where he is having the MRI, so presumably they have the records and could have actually confirmed the safety. Also I see this and this which are comforting without being authoritative.

He doesn't know what kind of stent it is, just that it was implanted in 2003.

He intends to go to the appointment tomorrow and ask for more details before having the procedure, but I think he is inclined to do what they tell him, while still being a little uneasy about the whole thing.

Can anyone point me to resources that would help us understand the risk? The appointment is at 7:30 AM EDT so he won't have time to contact anyone in the morning to get further information. He has to agree to the MRI or not.

MRI scans as art?

mjbraun — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 09:36:53 -0800

A number of years ago I had an MRI of my head to help explain sudden onset headaches I was experiencing. Thankfully, the problem went away, never to return, but I find myself in possession of a number of very nifty looking MRI negatives. So my question is, how to use them in an artistic manner? The obvious solution is to use a viewbox but as I have a small apartment, I'm worried about the bright fluorescent lighting being obtrusive. The negatives are large (perhaps 1' x 1.5' or so) and I have 4 of them. I'd prefer to keep them intact, although I'm flexible. Also, the harsh medical nature of that kind of display might be a wee bit too creepy to work as decor.

Additionally, I have access to large format scanners and printers and while I know I can make a full size positive image from the negatives, I'm wondering what to do with the negatives themselves. I was thinking of possibly doing a kind of lampshade, but I'm not sure how to go about having one made.

Any ideas for a creative way to show off the inside of my noggin?

Low cost MRI?????

goalyeehah — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 06:51:42 -0800

Is there such a thing as low cost MRI's? I had a seizure recently in my sleep and need to get MRI done for research and literal peace of mind. I do not have health insurance and am looking for low cost options. Are teaching universities one option?

BrainScan filter

bunky — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:46:24 -0800

Is it possible to tell the difference between an old, long-standing injury and a more recent injury to the brain on a brain scan? Would a particular type of brain scan (fMRI as opposed to CAT scan) be better able to reveal the difference between the two? This question would be pertinent to the Peter Braunstein case: earlier in the news coverage, they showed Braunstein's brain scan on television, because the defense claims that the decreased activity shown in the frontal region is consistent with schizophrenia. However, I understand Braunstein hit his head while in custody, and I'm thinking that could cause a similar result on the brain scan. I'm also wondering, could a brain scan show whether he got dropped on his head when he was a baby and/or all three possible conditions and when, approximately, they developed?

Help me find a great neurologist.

sneakin — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 18:33:15 -0800

Can you please recommend a great neurologist in the New Haven County (Connecticut) area? I need to see a neurologist for a follow-up after an MRI. I really want someone who is whip smart and will pay close attention to me. Having a nice/friendly/warm bedside manner is important, too, but not imperative since I know neurologists aren't known for their cuddliness. Yale affiliation is a plus.

It's my noggin, so, it's pretty important.

Is a Radiologist Required Under Medicaid?

whitebird — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 09:37:12 -0800

Is a radiologist required to be in the office during an MRI, according to Medicaid regulations? According to the Medicare National Coverage Determinations Manual, in a hospital setting for a CT scan, you need a "radiologist or other qualified physician...in charge of the procedure," while for a non-hospital health care facility, "the diagnostic procedure must be performed by or under the direct personal supervision of a radiologist or other qualified physician." Do the same rules apply to MRI? Bonus points given for a link to specific Medicaid/Medicare regulations applicable.

Good Anatomy books for MRI-students

Grums — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 02:38:02 -0800

My significant other is a radiographer and she is looking for an anatomy book which she can read just in case she gets a MRI-postition where she works. If she gets it the position she needs to take a MRI-course and is therefore looking for a anatomy book which suits MRI. Preferable language is english, but if someone by chance know any Norwegian ones, don't hesitat mentioning the title.

Thank you!

Where are permanent medical records kept?

fuzzbean — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 14:32:03 -0800

Where are permanent medical records kept? I participated in a study that involved my getting an MRI a few months ago. At the end of the study, they handed me a picture of my brain and told me that the MRI information would become part of my permanent medical record.

So where is this file kept? I've moved around several times in the last few years and seen several different doctors at several different practices. I know my file from my childhood doctor was huge, but how do all the different doctors put their information together? Is there some ginormous database somewhere? Do they just keep passing this huge manila folder around? The visit to the hospital for the MRI was a one-off, but if they're putting it in my record, where does it go and how do other doctors access it? How do the other doctors even know it exists?