myBama
College of Community Health Sciences

MRI Facility

Clinic Information

MRI Information

Before the MRI

  1. Medication & Diet

    Before an MRI exam, eat as you would normally and continue to take your usual medicines, unless you’re told otherwise.

  2. Recommended Attire

    Wear loose-fitting, soft clothing such as cotton t-shirts, sweatpants, or leggings. Avoid clothing with metal zippers, buttons, snaps, or underwire

  3. Prohibited Items & Preparation

    You will typically be asked to change into a gown and to remove things that might affect the magnetic imaging, such as: Jewelry, hair pins, eyeglasses, watches, wigs, dentures, hearing aids, underwire bras, cosmetics that contain metal particles.

During an MRI

  1. The MRI unit looks like a large metal donut. The center hole is open on both ends. You will lie on a padded table that moves into the tunnel. The scanning is done while you are in the center. A technologist monitors you from another room. You can talk with the technologist by microphone.

  2. The MRI machine creates a strong magnetic field around you, and radio waves are directed at your body. The procedure is painless. You don’t feel the magnetic field or radio waves, and there are no moving parts around you.

  3. You must lie still. Stay relaxed inside the MRI unit. Movement can distort the image.

  4. The test takes 30 to 60 minutes. You will be made as comfortable as possible.

  5. You will be given a squeeze button to call the technologist if you need anything. The staff will also be able to watch you at all times through a glass window.

  6. You will be given earplugs to wear, because the machine will be making lots of knocking and tapping noises, but you will still be able to hear and talk with MRI staff through a microphone. Please notify the technologist if you have any problems during the MRI.

After the scans

  1. Data Integrity & Quality Assurance

    Comprehensive support for secure data backup and rigorous quality control checks to ensure your research data is preserved and accurate.

  2. Research Assistant Data Workshops

    Collaborative training sessions designed to equip research assistants with the practical skills and methodologies required for efficient data analysis.

  3. Advanced Analysis Pipelines

    Scalable data processing solutions optimized for various environments, ranging from local desktop workstations to high-performance computing (HPC) clusters.

  4. Publication & Presentation Support

    Targeted assistance for the MRI-specific components of research manuscripts and academic posters to help streamline your dissemination process.