Having a FAST MRI breast scan

This is a short film about what happens when you have a fast MRI scan. A member of the radiographers team will welcome you when you arrive for your scan. They will ask you some standard safety questions to make sure it is safe for you to have the scan and you'll be asked to sign a form to confirm your answers. Before the scan you'll be asked to change into a gown please put your personal belongings and anything you have with you that is made of metal into a locker for safekeeping.

In order for the fast MRI scan to show up cancers clearly you will need to have a dye injected during your scan. To make this possible a small plastic cannula is placed into a vein in your arm before you go into the scanning room. This is an essential part of a Fast MRI scan. You may experience a cold feeling in your arm during the injection but side effects such as mild nausea or headache are uncommon, happening just once or twice in every thousand injections. 

The MRI scanner is a large magnet you'll be asked to lie face down on a padded table placing your breasts beneath you in a special cradle called a breast coil. The radiographer will take time to make sure you are in the correct position and are as comfortable as possible. The scanner is very noisy and you likely to hear it as you enter the scanning room. The radiographer will connect the canula in your arm to a pump so that the dye can be injected automatically at the right time during the scan. You will be given headphones to protect your ears from the loud noise of the scanner and you can choose whether or not to have music played through them. You will also be given a call button that you can press to request to stop the scan at any time. Once you're in the scanner the Fast MRI can take less than 5 minutes. Please tell the radiographer before the scan starts if you're not comfortable as it is very important that you relax and keep absolutely still throughout the scan is even a small movement of the breasts or chest can stop the images from being clear.

During this time the radiographer operates the scanner so that it takes several different sets of pictures. 

“okay you're doing really well this next scan the dye is going to come into your arm”

The noise can change depending on the pictures being taken. At the end of the scan the radiographer will help you up from the table your cannula will be removed and you can get dressed again.

We hope your found the short film helpful and we look forward to welcoming you for your Fast MRI scan in the near future. If you do have any questions please call your local research team or ask a member of the radiographers team when you arrive for your scan.