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CT or MRI will be easy for you if you need it. Basically you lay on your back or side on a narrow table. At the head end of the table the machine forms a wall that is 3 or 4 feet thick. This is where the imaging sensors are. There is a hole in the wall big enough to allow them to move the table and you head first into the machine. There is clearance of several inches to your right and left and above you, but if you are claustrophobic this can make you uneasy. The thing to do is to remind yourself that your feet are sticking out freely and your hands are probably out as well and that you are not restrained physically. Thus if you really panicked you could easily slide yourself back out into the open as needed. This can help comfort the claustrophobia and allow you to stay in the tunnel throughout the exam.
CT is a process using X-ray. The machine is not usually very noisy except for some whirring and maybe clicking.
MRI uses magnetic energy and a radio frequency. It is noisy inside the tunnel. It sounds a bit like a loud propellor airplane. This is because many small electronic coils inside the machine vibrate a bit with the frequencies they are generating. It is a normal part of the operation of the machine. In response to the oscillating energy given off by the machine, hydrogen atoms in your tissue oscillate at the same frequency and they in turn give off an energy of their own. This energy is read by sensors in the machine and is used to create the images that the doctor will view.
They usually slide you into the machine until the area that they want to image is lined up with the sensors. Then, as needed they can move you a few inches farther into or out of the machine to view a larger area.
I've had both. MRI does take longer, but if you relax like you are taking a needed nap it's not really so bad.
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