General information
Usually the duration of MRI examinations is about 15-30 minutes. The exact duration is difficult to predict as it depends on the body part to be examined. In general, however, the duration of MRI examinations does not exceed 60 minutes. Movements of the patient can lead to a longer stay in the MRI machine, as blurred images have to be discarded and new images have to be taken.
Duration of the various MRI examinations
The exact duration of an MRI examination depends on the body part to be examined, on the one hand, and on the other hand, on the question and the special positions that may be necessary, as well as on the duration of preparation and debriefing. If a contrast medium is used, its administration via an arm vein also takes some time before or during the MRI examination. The duration for the pure MRI examination of the knee, i.e. the image acquisition itself, takes about 30 minutes.
In an MRI examination of the lumbar spine (lumbar spine), only a part of the entire spine is shown in the images. The time required to produce these images is approximately 20 minutes. In addition, however, there is a certain waiting time before the examination, a certain amount of time for preparations and possible measures during the examination (e.g. administration of contrast medium via the arm vein, certain or special positioning positions, etc.)
as well as for debriefing the examination results. For the total duration of MRI examinations of the lumbar spine, a little more must therefore be expected – on average, 1 – 1 1⁄2 hours should be planned. An MRI examination of the back is usually an MRI examination of the spine – all sections: the cervical spine (cervical), thoracic spine (thoracic spine) and lumbar spine (lumbar spine).
As a rule, a total of 1 – 1 1⁄2 hours should be planned for this examination, even if the duration of the examination alone only takes about 20 minutes for the spinal image acquisition. The time required for the waiting period prior to the examination, for the preparations for the MRI, for any measures that may take place during the examination (e.g. administration of contrast medium via an arm vein, certain positioning positions, etc.) and for the debriefing of the examination results must also be calculated.
The MRI examination of the cervical spine (cervical spine) usually takes about 20 minutes, which is the time needed just for taking the MRI images. In addition, however, there is time required for the preparation of the MRI examination, for certain measures during the examination (e.g. administration of contrast medium, certain positioning positions, etc.) and for debriefing.
A certain waiting time before the examination must also be expected. The total duration for an MRI examination of the cervical spine is therefore significantly longer than that for the image acquisition – on average, 1 – 1 1⁄2 hours must be expected. The total duration of MRI examinations of the head also depends largely on various factors.
In addition to the time required for waiting, preparations, debriefing, the possible administration of contrast medium before or during the examination and the possible need to assume different positions, the duration of the head MRI examination also depends on the question posed and the necessary incision planes. The duration for the pure imaging of the head is about 15 – 20 minutes.
