Question: i actualy have sicle cell and on monday the 18th i actualy to a mri scan at kings college and i had to be very still why does the machine make sooo much noise and how do you see in my brain and how is it connected to the computer?

Jen Todd Jones answered on 21 Mar 2013:

Hey kitkat!

An MRI scan works by emitting a small magnetic pulse that throws the electrons inside your brain cells slightly out of their traditional setting, the length of time your electrons take to return to their original manner tells the machine what kind of material those electrons makes up (for example, water or bone). This way you can get a good picture of what that part of your head looks like but it’s limited, that’s why the scans are only black and white – this technology has only been around for a few years so it’ll get better.

That’s how they work, what they show you is the structures of the brain and what the inside looks like – which is difficult to do without just cutting the head open! MRI is usually after someone has had a bump on their head just to check that the brain is still okay inside. In more serious situations if someone has to have brain surgery doctors will ask for an MRI scan so that they can see what someones brain looks like before they go in, since everybody’s brain is a little different. In your case I’d imagine they’re using it to take a look at the way your blood flows around the brain.

You do have to keep very still sometimes for a long time! This is because if you move slightly the snapshot pictures they take will be blurry. When I go in them I tend to think about calm things like sleeping and napping to try and keep still 🙂

Jen