What is functional MRI?

Functional MRI, or fMRI, is a non-invasive test doctors use to diagnose medical conditions.

MRI uses a strong magnetic field, radiofrequency pulses, and a computer to produce clear images of the body's structures. Unlike X-rays, MRI does not involve radiation.

In addition to providing clear images, detailed MR images enable doctors to study the body and identify diseases.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, is a technique used along with MR imaging to measure small changes in blood flow, indicating what specific part of your brain is working.

What is functional MRI used for?

A doctor uses an fMRI to understand how a normal, diseased, or injured brain operates. They can also employ it to evaluate the potential risks of a surgical procedure or any other invasive treatment of the brain. Though doctors may use an fMRI to research many diseases, the FDA has only approved fMRI for surgical planning.

Your doctor can order an fMRI:

• Brain mapping determines which part of the brain handles important functions such as thought, speech, movement, and sensation. Functional anatomy is the study of which parts of the brain are involved in certain body functions.
• It is used to monitor the growth and function of brain tumors.
• It is used to guide planning for surgery, radiation therapy, or other invasive treatments of the brain by identifying which brain functions, such as language or movement, may be disturbed by treatment.

How should I prepare for this procedure?

On the day of your fMRI, do not consume any beverages that contain caffeine, as this may impact the results of an fMRI. Also, your doctor will inform you about the medication you may or may not take before the scan.

Similar to an MRI scan, an fMRI scan utilizes a powerful magnet. The magnet is so strong that it could damage certain objects or even pull magnetic objects toward it at an extreme speed. Even simple metallic items can become lethal projectiles near an MRI.

You will have to remove any clothing, accessories, or jewelry that contains metal, such as piercings. This includes all metals, regardless of whether or not they are magnetic. Even nonmagnetic metals can still interfere with the quality of the scan.

Avoid bringing or wearing near an MRI:

• Glass beads, wristwatches, bank cards, and artificial ear devices.
• Additionally, pins, hair clips, and bras with metal wiring, as well as clothing with zippers, can interfere with the quality of MRI scans.
•  
• Pens, pocketknives or multitools.
• Body piercings.
• Cell phones, electronic watches and tracking devices.

It's essential to inform your doctor before the MRI test if you have any of the following conditions:

• Before the MRI scan, it is necessary to inform your physician if you have any of the following conditions:
• A pacemaker/defibrillator is located in the heart.
• Stents elsewhere other than the heart.
• Filters, which include those placed to avoid clotting.
• Any metal pieces inside you or your eyes, such as bullets, shrapnel, or metal shavings.
• A device called a continuous glucose monitor.
• A device known as the insulin pump.
• Any drug delivery patch on your skin.
• Any electronic or wire implant, such as a deep brain implant, vagus nerve implant, bladder, spine, or neural stimulator implant, and cables or wires.
• Artificial bones.
• Cochlear devices and other ear-related devices.
• Catheters or devices that are fixed in position and give out medication such as analgesics or antispasmodics.
• Shunts that can be adjusted according to necessity.
• Clips and coils are implanted into the aneurysms.

You should tell your doctor before the fMRI if:

• You are or may become pregnant.
• There is a medical reason that you cannot lie on your back for the full length of the study.
• You have claustrophobia.

If you are diagnosed with claustrophobia, your healthcare provider will most likely suggest that you take an anti-anxiety medication before to or during the procedure. This may be variable, so ask your healthcare provider if medication is an option to help fears and anxiety during an fMRI.

Children can also undergo fMRI scanning but may require medications to help them relax as well. Your child's healthcare provider can share all his other options available with you and which they recommend.

What happens during a functional MRI scan?

An fMRI scan is identical to an MRI scan except for a few specifics. For instance, after the fMRI procedure, you would lie flat on a moving bed that positions you into the MRI machine. For fMRI, conventional cylindrical MR image scanners are mostly used as open MR scanners, but they don t have strong enough magnets most of the time.

In an fMRI, your head is placed in a special helmet-like device called a head coil, which helps create clearer images. You will also wear special sound-cancelling headphones that block sound from the MRI machine. Still, healthcare providers, including MRI technologists or radiologists, can talk to you during the scan and give you instructions through them.

The difference between an fMRI scan and a standard MRI is that your brain would be active. During an fMRI scan, healthcare providers might instruct you to talk, tap a finger, or perform similar tasks. They'll use this time to track the blood flow to your brain as you do these activities to determine which parts of the brain are most active and compare it to what you were doing at the time. This allows them to "map" areas of your brain and what they are responsible for.

The tasks can take place using either an event system or a block system.

• Block system: In this system, you do a task for a little while and then rest for a little while. The periods are called blocks.
• Event system: This requires you to go through a series of tasks without rest periods between them.

Another part of your fMRI study may be a "resting state" scan. During this time, you will lie in the scanner (your provider may ask you to keep your eyes open or closed).This lets the provider see and measure the difference between activity and rest in your brain.

What happens after this procedure?

You may be able to go home immediately after a fMRI. However, if you have been administered medication to aid with anxiety during your fMRI procedure, you will need a ride home. A radiologist interprets the scan and discusses the findings with you and the referring physician, who may have been a neurologist or neurosurgeon.

What are the advantages of fMRI?

Functional MRI is particularly helpful for surgery planning. It provides neurosurgeons with a better understanding of how different parts of the brain are functioning. That helps them avoid critical areas, if possible, to reduce their chances of losing any abilities reliant on those areas.

Other tests can also be useful in planning, but fMRI is generally a better choice. Other tests that can help are generally more invasive, utilize medications with an increased chance of side effects or aren't as reliable at mapping the areas of the brain in question.

What are the risks or disadvantages of fMRI?

Functional MRI has one or two disadvantages compared to other procedures. One key disadvantage concerns the timing of the fMRI scan and the speed at which the brain functions. An fMRI is done with intermittent scans over several seconds. The brain changes its activity patterns in milliseconds, so even an fMRI cannot scan quickly enough to detail the brain’s activity fully.

There is a very small risk associated with fMRI, somewhere around that of a standard MRI. Mischievous side effects due to gadolinium-based contrast applications are plausible but rare.  The key issue is concerns about metallic objects. You should comply with any instruction to you by medical personnel, especially as it concerned metallic objects. If in doubt, you should not hesitate to clarify the situation with the medical personnel.

To seek an expert consultation

Call us at +91-9076972161
Email at care@tenderpalm.com

Request a Call Back