What Happens Inside an MRI Machine During a Scan?

There are plenty of Google search results that can tell you what's inside an MRI scanner, but what happens inside during the actual MRI scan?

It’s important to know what goes on inside one especially when you are in the middle of a scan because getting an MRI can be pretty scary thing – it would certainly make me feel a whole lot better knowing I was safe inside the giant donut!

First things first, the MRI scanner’s most important part is its magnets. Without the magnets, the MRI would not be an MRI scanner at all, since MRI does stand for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The way MRI's magnets work is that they manipulate the cells in your body to produce the MRI image.

What you may know already is that the human body is largely made up of water molecules. The water molecules are comprised of hydrogen and oxygen atoms.  Inside of the atoms are the protons, which are smaller and serve as a magnet that is sensitive to any magnetic field including the MRI magnet.

The water molecules in our bodies are always randomly arranged, except for when you enter an MRI scanner. The first magnet in the MRI causes the water molecules to align in one direction – north, or south.

The second magnet is turned off in a series of quick pulses, which in turn causes each hydrogen atom to alter its alignment and then quickly switch back to its original relaxed state when switched off. The magnetic field is created by passing electricity through gradient coils, which then causes the coils to vibrate, resulting in a knocking sound inside of the scanner.

You won’t be able to feel the changes going on inside the cells in your body, but the scanner can. By working with a computer, it creates a cross-sectional image.

Knowing how an MRI scanner actually does its job during a scan can sometimes make things easier for an anxious patient. Hopefully, we've helped out with this post! If you have further questions or want to schedule an appointment, give us a call today.

ClermontRadiology.com