MRI Information

Why Do We Make Everyone Change into Scrubs for Their MRI?

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We get it; it can be annoying and time consuming to have a participant change out of their clothes into our scrubs when there is no apparent metal on their clothing, but looks can be deceiving. In honor of MRI Safety Week, I am sharing an article written in The Washington Post by Tobias Gilk that discusses the hidden MRI dangers in today’s clothing. 

Another reason we have everyone change their clothing (including clinical patients) is to maintain the cleanliness of the scanner and homogeneity of of the magnetic field, as well as reduce artifacts caused by items introduced into the bore. I can confidently say from experience, a dry cleaning tag staple creates a huge artifact and is incredibly difficult to locate.

If you ever have a question about MRI Safety, please email Elisa. Also, mrisafety.com, created by Dr. Frank Shellock, has a searchable list of everything from implants to hardware that is kept very up-to-date, and is a great resource for other safety questions as well.

MRI Scheduling updates

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How to Utilize the MRI Wait List option

If you are requesting a time that is not available to schedule because it is marked as Not Available or Pending Availability, or if the time is currently reserved by another investigator but you would like that slot if it becomes available, please use the MRI Wait List for Unavailable/off hour times. The Wait List should not be used as a placeholder if there are available slots. All Wait List requests will receive one of two emails informing the requestor of the status of the reservation: One is an automated email from the BIRC Scheduler informing you the reservation has been approved and has been moved to the MRI schedule; or one from Elisa informing you that we were unable to find coverage for your requested times. Once your reservation has been approved, you are responsible for all normal charges (please review our cancellation policies for single and block cancellations at https://birc.uconn.edu/researchers/rates-and-policies/

Short-notice cancellations

Effective immediately, if you have a reservation that cancels within 24 hours of the reservation start time but you are able to find another lab to take that slot, you will not be charged. (Please note you will "own" that spot until Elisa is notified about the change.) To help facilitate this process, we have created a listserv available to all schedulers to communicate any questions, availabilities, or requests. Please let Elisa know if you would like to be added to birc_mri_schedulers-l@listserv.uconn.edu

Please remember that it is the responsibility of the investigator or the person responsible for scheduling participants to monitor their own reservations. All schedulers will now receive an automated email from BIRC Scheduler confirming the MRI reservation as soon as it is approved.  All reservations made during available hours (slots are open and available to schedule, including weekends) will automatically be approved and can be confirmed with your participants prior to receiving the confirmation email.