Dr Adriaan Liebenberg My Spine Explained | Page 119

My Spine Explained Figure 15.2 This is a picture of an MRI scan machine. The section that generates the magnetic field is a tubular structure and patients are moved into this cave-like tube on the table, which has an electric motor. The room is devoid of loose metallic objects, as these would become airborne when the machine is activated because of the magnetic field, which is extremely powerful. Objects such as the magnetic strips on bank cards are rendered useless by the machine, so make sure that you leave these outside the room. These machines tend to be quite noisy on the inside with all manner of tap- ping and banging noises. These are perfectly normal and you should not be alarmed by them. Some institutions will have earphones with music available to reduce the noise. 118