Have nothing to eat or drink for 4 hours prior to your exam time, except a sip of water for your normal medications. Arrive one hour and 15 minutes before your exam. You will receive an oral contrast drink for the procedure to improve the quality of the images.

Because the MRI system uses a very powerful magnet, there are many items that cannot be brought into the exam room. Although a private locker will be provided, it is best to leave certain items at home or with someone during your MRI exam, including:

• Cell phones, pagers, iPads, or any other electronic device
• Credit cards, driver’s license, and any other card with a magnetic strip
• Loose change
• Bobby pins, safety pins or any other item with metallic pieces
• Any loose metallic items on clothing or body
• Glasses, hearing aids and items such as TENS Units will not be able to go into the exam room, but can be worn until just before entering the MRI room

Wear comfortable loose-fitting clothes, such as a sweatsuit. Be sure there are no metal zippers, snaps or buckles. Do not wear earrings, hairpins, or jewelry. Do not apply eye shadow or mascara.

This exam may not be performed if you have a cardiac pacemaker, cerebral aneurysm clips or a metallic hearing implant. If you are a sheet metal worker or have ever had metal fragments in your eye(s), an orbit x-ray will be taken prior to your MRI exam.

Arrive one hour and 15 minutes before your exam. You will receive a series of oral contrast drinks leading up to your exam.

Next, you will be escorted to a changing room. You will then meet the registered MRI technologist who will be performing your exam. The technologist will review the screening questionnaire and the procedure with you, answering any questions you may have.

When you are ready, you will be asked to lie down on the cushioned MRI table. Your exam may require the use of a coil, which is placed on or around the body part being scanned. The coil is a lightweight device that acts as an antenna to receive the radio frequency signal coming out of your body and transmit that data to a computer, which then generates the images.

The table will slowly move into position within the large doughnut-shaped magnet. We provide you with noise-canceling headphones and your choice of music, as the MRI makes a series of loud thumping noises as the scan is performed. We ask that you keep very still to help ensure that the images come out clear. Throughout the entire exam, you will be able to communicate with the technologist through an intercom. Orthopedic MRI exam can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the body part being scanned.