MRI Technologist

Hearing the beeping and creaking noise of the machine, as the patient slowly rolls inside, is an everyday routine. As the patient sits inside, quietly panicking from claustrophobia, the patient’s body is scanned, hears reassuring words about how they are doing great and to stay still over the microphone. A twelve-year-old boy named Chase, had just recently fallen out of a tree and broke a few bones in his arm and collarbone. The Radiologist of the facility, Dr. Anderson M.D, instructs to scan the entire body just to make sure nothing else was sprained or broken as the boy’s body was covered in a few scrapes and bruises. As his body was being scanned, the MRI Tech and Chase start to ask each other questions to calm down his nerves and distract him from

the constant, turbulent thumping of the machine. The scan goes on for about twenty more minutes before you have all the images printed out and ready to send to Dr.

Anderson. This is an everyday process. As an MRI Technologist, only the radiologist of the facility can diagnose the patient. The same, everyday routine is the job of an MRI Technologist. There may be times when an emergency will pop up but that’s mainly for hospitals and the emergency rooms. An MRI Technologist aids in locating potential problematic medical conditions.

One of the important factors in this field is the MRI machine. MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The MRI machine is a large, strong magnet. The magnetic fields line up

with certain atomic nuclei in the body and scans your organs (“Guide to Becoming an MRI Technician or Radiographer.” InnerBody). While the patient lies in the magnet, there is a radio wave used to send signals to the body and receive them back. The returning signals are created into images and then printed out to send to the doctor. There are 3 different types of machines at the Millennium Imaging facility. The first machine is the 1.0 Tesla. This is the weakest out of the three. This machine is mid-field strength and is very minor. The next machine is the 1.5 Tesla. This machine is

stronger than the 1.0 but not too extreme. The 1.5 is the standard machine used in a clinical setting. This is used for scanning abdomens and chests. The machine sends off extra signals which allows shorter scan times and higher quality images. Although the 1.5T is mainly used for abdomen and chests, the machine can be used to scan every part of the body and still have clear images of the scanned body part. The last machine is the 3.0 Tesla or also known as the G.E. This is known as the “Ferrari” of all MRI machines (“Shields Health Care Group Blog.” What patients want to know about MRI machines). This machine is the newest and most powerful. It can provide extremely clear images and will be done in a faster time. The 3T is ideally for scanning small bones, breasts, and vascular MRI. As technology has advanced, machines and computers have also done their part. Computers have gotten more software added to them, machines have gotten smaller and more complex, and the computers can process all the information in lighting fast speed and not have to wait over 10 minutes to load. Before the advancement, MRI machines were longer and made patients feel “further away” and anxious. Also before the advancement, a higher percentage of patients have crawled out of the machines, trying to turn it off or to get out of the room. It’s a good thing that patients cannot turn off the machines because they are only turned off in emergencies and release a gas that can suffocate the