MRI Safety Screening Form Explained
The MRI Safety Screening Form asks personal questions about you and your health. Click on the questions below to find out why we ask them. The radiographers are very happy to answer any questions about your MR scan. If you have any concerns about safety, what happens during the scan, or anything else, please feel free to ask us!
MRI is safe and does not involve any ionising radiation (x-rays).
However, because it uses a large magnet to work, MRI scans are not suitable for everybody.
We ask these safety questions to determine if you can take part and sometimes, we would need more information before you take part in the research MRI scan.
You can see the questions that we ask, and the reason we ask them in this document, or by clicking on the question links below.
MR scanners have inbuilt safety systems to prevent excessive heating during a scan, and different manufacturers have different ways of doing this. The systems we use rely on models that require height, weight, and biological sex and therefore it’s important we know this information.
Many older pacemakers are unsafe to be scanned (and even some of the newer ones). The magnetic field can permanently damage some of their components such as reed switches.
Sometimes when a person has had a pacemaker removed, it’s not possible to remove the pacing wires. This can be for a variety of reasons but there is a risk that these wires can heat up during a MR scan. If you have had a pacemaker in the past, we will confirm that the pacing wires have been removed before your MR scan.
These are all devices that can be implanted to make ensure that blood flows through the heart correctly. Most medical implants have had MR safety testing and the manufacturers provide information on how to safely scan these implants.