Rambo, you slept in again? How come I didn’t see you at school yesterday?

Nah, I had a doctor’s appointment.

What for?

That’s not important at all. The point is I had an MRI scan. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience!

I want one too! Where did you have the scan?

Hong Kong Children’s Hospital. The machine was making loud noises, so I was quite anxious at first, but the staff there seemed nice and friendly, and they explained the whole procedure to me.

Hello there, what is your name? Have you had an MRI done before?

Hi, my name is Rambo. What is an MRI scan like?

This must be your first time having an MRI examination. Let’s have a look at the MRI simulator! Come this way, mommy can come along with us.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging involves the use of a huge magnet. So, before you go in, I have to make sure that you don’t have any metal objects or accessories on you.

That’s right Rambo, so remember to pass it to me before you go in. You won’t be able to play with the cell phone while you’re having the scan done.

What? Then I’ll be bored!

Don’t worry, I’ll walk you through the procedure with this MRI simulator. Take your shoes off first and lie down on the couch. You can choose to watch movies or listen to music while you are having the scan on the examination couch.
Here we go! The movie will be played in a minute. All you have to do is to lie very still and not to move your body! Remember that you are on camera too, which means that I’ll be able to see if you have moved or not.
That’s it, you can get up slowly. Let’s do a playback and see how you did!
We can actually see how well you performed with this simulator. The green bars mean that you stayed still and didn’t move. The red ones represent instances of any movements you’ve made. You can of course blink your eyes….and this is where you began to move. Remember to hold still during the actual scan!
Let’s get changed into a hospital gown first before the examination. Mommy you can give him a hand. Come here for a final check before we go in. This is a metal detector system. Just stand there and make a turn.

It will detect any metals I have just by turning in a circle?

Yes, that’s correct!

It seems like you still have metal objects on you.

Right! You still have a watch on.

Let’s pass it to mom. We’ll head inside the scan room.
The MRI examination will take around half an hour. You may feel a little warm as we go, that’s normal. All you have to do is to stay still and enjoy the movie. If you feel unwell at any time during the scan, simply press it and I will come in. Mommy will be waiting for you outside.
Here’s the headphone. You’re all set for the movie with the video goggles.
MRI makes use of a strong magnetic field to create and collect MR signals from hydrogen protons of the human body, thereby producing diagnostic images. The advantage of having an MRI is that it does not cause pain and it does not involve the use of radiation. The procedure itself may take from thirty minutes to two hours. The patient has to stay still for the entire time. Your cooperation is indeed very important.

So that was it!

Wow it seemed like fun! I want one too!

Even though the machine was very loud, you get to watch movies during the scan. It was fun!

Rambo, this is not joke! You only go for an MRI scan if it’s needed. Rainbow, come with us. Let’s go!