MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging — it is a non-invasive radiography method that uses a computer, radio waves, and magnetism to produce your child's body structure images. It is an accurate way of disease detention in the body. In your child's head, the brain could be seen as swelling or bleeding. Other abnormalities that could be found include developmental delays, brain tumor, stroke, and brain aneurysm, spinal cord integrity following trauma. It also offers valuable details on bones, soft tissues, joints, cardiovascular system, and abdominal organs. Your pediatrician can be accurately directed or deferred after knowing the scan's results. Los Angeles Diagnostics offers detailed and professional imaging pediatric services performed by experienced medical practitioners with state-of-the-art scanners. Speak to our team if your child is prescribed for the scan.
What is Pediatric MRI?
A pediatric magnetic resonance imaging uses radio waves plus strong magnetic fields to produce comprehensive images of your child's tissues and organs within their body.
An MRI imaging technique uses radio waves, a computer, and magnetism to produce images of body structures. The scanner resembles a huge tube surrounded by a circular magnet with a table at the center, permitting your child to slide in. The magnet forms a magnetic field that aligns the protons of hydrogen atoms exposed to radio waves. The magnet spins different body protons, producing faint signals that the scanner's receiver detects. Then the computer processes the receiver information and creates images.
MRI resolution and image are comprehensive and can detect small structural changes within your child's body. Sometimes contrast agents like gadolinium are used to improve the images' accuracy.
Unlike an X-ray or CT scan, a pediatric scan doesn't use potentially hazardous ionizing radiation, making it a safe procedure.
The invention of pediatric MRI represents significant milestones for the medical field. Researchers, scientists, and pediatricians can now study the body's inside in detail using non-invasive equipment.
MRI of the spinal cord and brain could help discover several things, including:
- Brain injury
- Blood vessel damage
- Spinal cord injuries
- Cancer
- Eye challenges
- Inner eye challenges
- Stroke
- Determining the condition of the nerve tissues in your child's spinal cord
- Analyze the root cause of developmental delay
- Help in the diagnosis of autoimmune health conditions like encephalitis and encephalopathy.
- Cysts and tumors
Cardiac MRI plays a significant role in catheter angiography, computed tomography, and heart ultrasound to offer information after and before treatment. The pediatrician might use it to:
- Assess your child's heart and nearby blood vessels
- Evaluate the cause of irregular heart rhythm
- Analyze infections
- Evaluate findings after a cardiovascular surgical procedure
- Evaluate blood flow to your child's heart
- When it comes to the pelvic and abdominal region, the scan is used to:
- Analyze injuries following a trauma
- Help diagnose and monitor inflammatory and infectious disorders.
- Track the progress of cancer treatment
When it comes to imaging your child's bones and joints, MRI is frequently the ideal choice since it could help:
- Evaluate bone loss
- Diagnose sports injuries
- Diagnose developmental joint abnormalities in your child
- Tell the existence of a hidden infection or tumor in the joint.
- Analyze complex fractures
- Diagnose bone cancer
The above list is by no means exhaustive. The use of MRI technology is continuously expanding in use and scope.
How an MRI Equipment Looks Like
A standard scanner is a massive tube with openings at all ends. Magnetic fields surround the tube, and a table the patient lies on slides in and out of the tube. Hinging on the body part the physician wants to evaluate, your child could not even put their whole body or head in the scanner.
Older scanners had ceilings too close to the child's face and head, increasing the chances of feeling claustrophobic during the scan. On the other hand, newer machines have huge tunnels hence more space.
In a short-bone system, only the body part being scanned will be inside the scanner.
If your child is obese or claustrophobic, you can choose an open scanner. All sides of the scanner are open. However, image quality with open MRI scanners is not as excellent as that of closed scanners.
How to Prepare Your Child for Their Children's MRI
Your minor child getting a children's scan could be intimidating, and if it's their first time, you probably are unsure how to prepare. No worries. Once you get the pediatrician's approval, preparing for the medical test is easy. Here are steps to ensure you're all set for the visit.
Understand How The Pediatric MRI Test Works
Pack the necessary documents the doctor requires to check you in. Remember to carry your doctor's prescription, health insurance card, patient information sheet and safety sheet, driver's license.
There are no food, drink, and medication restrictions before undergoing the scan. That means your child can eat, drink and take medications usually unless the doctor advises you otherwise.
Make sure your child puts on loose clothing. The main thing that the doctor wants to avoid is metallic stuff in the scanner. In other words, your child cannot wear their favorite pair of trousers if they have buttons or jeans. If the minor is having a head or neck MRI, they should not wear makeup. Please, notify the technician if the child has tattoos, including eyeliner and eyebrow tattoos. When in doubt, contact your doctor. They will tell you what to carry and leave at home.
The child might require to be sedated to remain still during the examination. In this case, the doctor will instruct you not to give the child any food or drink many hours before the sedation and the scan. For your child's safety during the medical procedure, it is essential to understand and follow all instructions fully. After the medical procedure, there will be a recovery period from sedation. The child will be discharged when the pediatrician thinks the child is safe to return home.
Sometimes children receive injections of contrast agents into their bloodstream. Your radiologist might ask if the baby has allergies. The contrast agent frequently used for children's MRI scans has gadolinium. While gadolinium could be used in patients with iodine contrast allergy, it requires premedication. Tell your radiologist if the minor has a severe health condition or has undergone surgery. Conditions like kidney failure might prevent the child from receiving gadolinium contrast for the MRI. If the child has previously suffered from liver or kidney disease, the doctor should perform blood tests to determine if their kidneys are effective.
Jewelry and accessories must be removed before the scan or left at home. They can affect the magnetic fields of the scanner. Items not permitted in the examination room include:
- Credit cards, hearing aids, watches, and jewelry
- Metal zippers, hairpins, and pins
- Dental work
- Body piercings
- Pocket knives, eyeglasses, and pens
Remember to tell the technician if the child has implanted electronic or medical devices. The devices might affect the examination or pose risks, depending on the scanner magnet's strength and nature. Most implanted devices have pamphlets with MRI risk for the device. If you've your brochure, be sure to alert the doctor before the scan. While most cochlear implants could be scanned with prior preparations, others require time following placement before pediatric MRI examinations.
Moreover, it would be best if you put the radiologist's attention on bullets, shrapnel, or any metallic pieces that might be in your child's body due to previous accidents. Usually, magnetic fields do not affect braces and tooth fillings, but they can distort brain or facial area images. Your radiologist should know of them.
If the baby is claustrophobic or anxious, you can speak with a pediatrician about getting prescriptions for a sedative before the scan. Generally, babies who have been sick won't be anesthetized or sedated. If you think the child is sick, speak with the medical expert about rescheduling their scan. When scheduling their examination, inquire if child life specialists are available. Child life specialists are experienced to make children less anxious, comfortable, and remain calm during the exam without sedation.
Like any doctor's appointment, it is wise to arrive at least fifteen minutes early to fill all the required paperwork, change clothing if needed, remove metallic jewelry, and relax before your child's scan.
If you have any questions or concerns about MRI scan preparation, please contact your medical practitioner.
What to Expect During the MRI Scan
On arrival at the health facility, your doctor might ask your child to change into a gown. As previously stated, metallic objects should not be present in the MRI equipment. The medical expert will request the patient to remove all metal accessories and jewelry that could interfere with the scanner.
The technician will then confirm the medical procedure that the physician ordered and elaborate on what is about to occur.
While some examinations require people to get into the scanner feet first, others enter head first. It is essential that the part being examined gets to the magnet's center. It ensures that the radiologist gets the best image of your child's body organ or tissue.
Your son or daughter will lie on a table during the procedure. The technician could put an imaging device known as a coil around the body area being imaged. The plastic framework aids acquire images with better quality. Hinging on the form of scan, the child might require contrast material to diagnose or further detect possible abnormalities. In this case, the radiologist will put an intravenous contrast in the arm to administer this contrast.
Then your daughter or son will be given a pair of headphones and an intercom. These items enable the minor to hear the technician during the examination and communicate should a concern arise.
The technician will inform the minor of the medical scan procedure and the importance of remaining calm. They should also answer all questions. Even the most nervous patients are more comfortable when they understand the process and what to expect. Your technologist should remain in the examination room until your child is comfortable and properly positioned.
Your medical practitioner is experienced in lowering a patient's worry, anxiety, and stress during the examination. They understand how essential the scan is and will make the child comfortable and complete their medical examination. If your child requires sedation, please notify your doctor.
You can accompany your child in the room if you wish, provided you do not have any metallic object. It might help if the child begins to feel anxious. They can also listen to their favorite music through the headphone in the MRI machine.
Once your child is ready for their scan, the radiologist will go to another room with a huge window that looks into the exam room. The expert could see the child throughout the medical test. The technician should confirm that the child can hear them and continually coach and update the patient. The time between different scans varies as the technologist analyzes images and prepares for another scan. It's normal, and your child should not be worried.
During the scan, your son or daughter will hear buzzing or knocking sounds from the scanner. Changing magnetic fields cause the noise, and it's normal. Earplugs or headphones aid dampen the sounds. Additionally, the minor will feel air moving a fan move the air in the tunnel. The technician will speak with the patient after every scan.
The child should stay relaxed while in the scanner. Movements could distort images.
After the examination, your technician will return to the examination room to aid your child out of the scanner and escort them to a changing room. They can wear their clothing and go home. Be sure to be with your child before, during, and following the scan to monitor and drive them home.
Typically, a pediatric MRI test lasts for twenty to ninety minutes.
You Do Not Require to Do Anything Special Following the Scan
There are no restrictions on what your child could do following the MRI test. Your child could resume their daily activities immediately following the scan unless they had any sedation or drugs.
Beyond that, you will be required to hear from the doctor about the test results. While it might feel anxious, it is wise to inquire about the waiting duration's length and the next steps.
Interpreting Children's MRI Results
The radiologist should analyze and interpret the MRI scan, draft a radiologist report, and then share it with your doctor. The doctor will discuss the MRI findings with the parent and advise them on the next steps.
Unless a parent can access their child's radiology report in the online medical chart, they might not see it. And if they do, it could be hard to understand the report without medical knowledge. The radiologist should answer all their questions.
Generally, a radiology report has several sections, including clinical history, exam type, and findings of all areas in the body which the technician scanned. All body parts are classified as abnormal, potentially abnormal, and normal.
In the impression area, your radiologist will combine the child's scanner findings and medical history, why the radiologist conducted the MRI scan, and then give a diagnosis founded on the factors. Your technologist will outline possible diagnoses that could fit the minor child's situation if there are sufficient details for specific diagnoses.
You might require a follow-up with your qualified physician if the medical test results are not normal. Below are typical scenarios:
- If the results show potentially abnormal or abnormal, the radiologist will recommend additional imaging, comparing MRI findings with signs or lab results or biopsy.
- If the children's MRI did not get what the doctor was looking for, your child might undergo another examination that uses different special imaging techniques or views.
- If the MRI helped the doctor diagnose an ailment, the physician would advise you on the treatment plan.
What are the Side Effects of MRI?
Contrast dye enables the doctor to see and interpret images better, and for many, it does not cause challenges. However, it could result in allergic reactions in some people. Doctors have different ways of treating them.
The pediatrician might check the minor child's kidney function before the test. People suffering from kidney disease are more vulnerable to nephrogenic sclerosing fibrosis.
Moreover, there is a likelihood of the dye staying in the body and building up in different body organs. It is still unclear if the buildup is harmful. The FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) has not restricted its use.
Are There Limitations of Pediatric Magnetic Resonance Imaging?
Discussed below are the MRI limitations:
- An obese child might not fit into the opening of specific forms of MRI scanners.
- The existence of implants or metallic objects could make it hard to acquire clear images. A high-quality image is assured only when the child remains calm and adheres to breath-holding instructions during the scan.
- Additionally, irregular heartbeats might affect images acquired using methods founded on the heart's electrical activity like ECG (electrocardiography).
- Children's magnetic resonance imaging isn't recommended for severely injured persons. Nevertheless, your doctor should advise you further. It is because life support machines and traction devices might distort images.
Find a Skilled Pediatric MRI Expert Near Me
Pediatric magnetic resonance imaging represents one of the latest technological milestones surgeons, doctors, and pediatricians use to achieve correct images of your child's body interior without using invasive methods. Imaging helps medical practitioners locate the health condition's location and root cause, lessening recovery and trauma following surgery. Children suffering from chronic diseases like cancer, eye challenges, cardiovascular disorders, bone loss, and developmental delays have also benefited. Los Angeles Diagnostics takes pride in treating the little ones in your life with expertise and compassion. Moreover, we enjoy serving you, the parent of our patients. Our objective is to make every experience as memorable, comfortable, and fun as possible. To learn more about our MRI services, contact us today at 323-486-7502.
