Generally, a single site MRI takes about ten minutes to half an hour, and the time required for a complete examination can be up to one hour or more, depending on the part of the body being examined, whether or not special sequences are added, and whether or not enhanced scanning sequences are required.
MRI is an imaging technique that uses signals generated by the resonance of atomic nuclei in a strong magnetic field for image reconstruction. Compared with CT, MRI does not produce artifacts, has clearer imaging of blood vessels and soft tissues, and is free of ionizing radiation.
Conventional MRI consists of T1 and T2 sequences. Simply put, T1 is used to see if the structure of the examined area is abnormal, and T2 is used to look for lesions and observe the lesions. Depending on the examined area, the time needed for the MRI examination varies, e.g., conventional MRI examination of the limbs is quicker, and usually takes only about ten minutes, while conventional MRI examination of the head and the heart area takes about half an hour.
There are many complementary sequences for MRI examination, the commonly used ones are MRI angiography (MRA), which can visualize the blood vessels at the examination site, making it easy for doctors to detect stenosis, vascular occlusion, aneurysm, etc.; and MRI diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), which is very sensitive to the foci of acute cerebral infarction and early hemorrhage points, and helps doctors to detect the related diseases in a timely manner.
It is recommended that patients who have the need for MRI examination consult their doctors in time, and have their individualized MRI examination plan formulated by professional doctors.