FAQ
1. Is there any radiation involved?
2. Are there any short-term or long-term effects associated with being scanned?
3. How should I prepare for a scan?
4. What things or documents should I bring along?
6. How long will the scan take?
7. Can I stop midway through a scan?
8. What benefits are there from volunteering?
Unlike X-ray and CT scans, there is no ionizing radiation involved in MRI.
You will experience a lot of noise and vibration during the scan. This is a normal part of the scanner operation. Safety precautions are taken to ensure the safety of volunteers. There are no known long-term health risks associated with MRI scanning.
Please read through the section on Preparing for a scan.
Please read through the section on Preparing for a scan.
Some research studies involve the injection of a contrast agent to improve the image quality. Your research coordinator will advise whether this is required.
A typical scan may take up to 60 minutes excluding preparation time. This will depend greatly on the study that you are participating in. Your research coordinator will inform you of the duration of the scan.
If at any time you feel the need to pause a scan, you may press the alarm and communicate with the radiographer performing the scan. If you do not feel well and are unable to continue, the scan will be immediately terminated.
There will be no direct benefit from participating in research studies. However, volunteer participation is a vital component in research, and will contribute to improving our understanding in important clinical areas, potentially leading to improvements in clinical care and health outcomes.