Hi, my name is Harry, and I am going to tell you all about what happens when you have an MRI scan...

An MRI scanner takes pictures, just like a camera. The only difference is that an MRI picture shows what you look like on the inside!

When you come for your scan, a friendly lady will greet you in our reception area. She will ask your Mum or Dad to answer some questions about you before you go in for your scan, this is to make sure everything is safe.
If your Mum or Dad wants to go into the scan room with you, they will need to answer some safety questions as well.

There are books and toys in the waiting room which you can play with while you wait for your scan. When the scanner is ready for you a radiographer will call for you and your Mum or Dad so that you can get ready to have your pictures taken. The radiographer is the person who will take your pictures using the scanner.

MRI is very safe and doesn't hurt. The pictures or scans are made with the help of a very large magnet and radio waves. Because the scanner uses a very strong magnet, we can't take any metal or magnetic things into the room. These are things like hair clips, coins and watches. If you are wearing clothes that have metal buttons, poppers or zips, you may need to change into some special clothes before your scan.

When you are ready the radiographer will take you into the scan room. The MRI machine is in a special room. There are usually some chairs for people to sit down while they wait for you to have your scan. If you want your Mum and Dad to stay in the room with you, they can talk to you during your scan but you must keep very still while the pictures are taken.

The MRI scanner looks like a big doughnut with a hole through the middle.
There is a special bed that you lie on which can slide into the scanner. The scanner is open at both ends and you should be able to see out into the scanning room.
When the scanner is working it sounds like a road drill. The radiographer will give you and your Mum or Dad some earplugs or headphones to put on your ears so that the noise isn't too loud.

Each scan can take up to 4 minutes, and the whole scan should last about half an hour. Some scans can be longer, it just depends upon what kind of pictures the radiographer needs to take.

If you bring some favourite music or story they can play it to you whilst you have your scan.

The most important thing for you to remember is that you need to keep absolutely still. No wriggling or talking. When the scanner is making the road drill noise it is taking pictures of you. If you move when the scanner is making the noise, the pictures will be very blurred and the radiographer will have to do them again.

Once you have earplugs in or the headphones on, the bed will move up and then into the scanner so that you are in the middle. Mum or Dad will stay in the scanning room with you all the time so don't worry about being left alone.

The radiographer needs to sit at a big computer to make the scanner work, and will talk to you through a special microphone when the scanner is quiet. She will tell you how long you need to keep still for and check that you are happy.

When the scan is finished, the radiographer comes back into the room and moves the bed out of the scanner. The bed goes down towards the floor and when it stops you can get off, and wriggle as much as you like! You can collect all your belongings from the locker and make your way back to the waiting room.
In the waiting room your Mum or Dad can have a cup of tea or coffee and you can have some juice and biscuits if you like.

You are free to go home once the scan is finished.

The radiographer will print out all of your pictures onto sheets of film. Sometimes there can be hundreds of pictures to look at. The films go into a big packet and are sent to a room called the reporting room where they will be looked at carefully.

A doctor called a radiologist will look at your scans and will write a letter to your doctor, telling him what he can see on your scans.

The main thing to remember is that it doesn't hurt at all, I thought it was good fun and I wouldn't mind having another one!