Where do you find these "cool doctors"? I once tried to bribe six different doctors in my area with $3000 in exchange for agreeing to allow me to get an exploratory MRI and they all said no.
I suspect many would be far more open to clearly non medical usage of machines they actually own or lease. What you were asking for isn’t any, and had perceived risk for them.
If I was a random clinician there is no way I would have helped you either.
If you do want a MRI done out of curiosity your best bet is to go through biomedical imaging research group who needs subjects, I would guess. Unless you happen to live near a manufacturer.
An exploratory MRI has inherit risk (even if minuscule) to your life, and thus their livelyhood. A very big difference from asking for an x-ray of a cable.
That is not true. It doesn’t involve ionizing radiation, so not a dose risk like CT. But look up PNS and SAR (peripheral nerve stimulation and specific absorption rate), for example. This is mostly handled well for standard pulse sequences of course, but not “zero risk”.
Beyond that, there is a reliance that you do not have any implants etc., even some tattoos. And you tell the truth about it. From the clinics point of view too risky.
I don't think that's what they're especially worried about; those are fairly minor.
Instead, think about interacting with someone who a) is so convinced that they need an exploratory MRI but b) can't convince a doctor of that need. I'd be afraid that either I'll be stuck dealing with someone perseverating over a totally normal anatomical variation (and everyone has a few). If they get sick later, I might also get dragged into a debate over whether I should have noticed something on that scan, done a different scan, or whatever, possibly with big legal implications.
This is why our techs will happily scan a fruit or something, but don't run an ad-hoc clinic.
I agree that in the parent comment case, there is no reason to risk a review or lawsuit which is probably mainly why a clinician wouldn't do it; I alluded that that in another comment.
This one was specifically a comment about "zero risk" on MRI, it's not true. Low risk, sure. But people have been hurt.
I also suspect any clinician is going to look askance at a low risk action that isn't necessary, but the potential liability is the kicker here.
Nothing is totally risk free, but compared to most medical procedures--and most activities of daily living--MRIs are a walk in the park. For a subject with no implanted devices, I would bet the drive to the scan center is much more dangerous. I just flipped through MAUDE (https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfMAUDE/d...) and I couldn't find any adverse events that were more severe than a small burn or blister.
> The magnetic fields that change with time create loud knocking noises which may harm hearing if adequate ear protection is not used. They may also cause peripheral muscle or nerve stimulation that may feel like a twitching sensation.
> The radiofrequency energy used during the MRI scan could lead to heating of the body. The potential for heating is greater during long MRI examinations.
Minimal, perhaps negligible? Absolutely. Worth risking a license for a mere $3k? Probably not.
CT scans are far more dangerous than MRIs, and yet doctors recklessly schedule CT scans for everything, to the point where they treat you like you're crazy if you try to avoid CT scans. One could argue that every single thing a doctor does has inherent risk to the patient's life, so by your logic, doctors should simply not do anything, ever.
I don’t know anything, but I would not be shocked to learn that malpractice insurance does not cover "exploratory" practices paid in cash under the table.
Every single thing they do opens them to a giant slew of malpractice claims. By your logic, doctors should simply not do anything, ever.
I also lied for the sake of brevity. In reality I wanted an MRI in order to look for evidence of diverticulitis. They all said I needed to either get a CT scan or get lost. CT scans are more dangerous than MRIs. Doctors can't possibly be exposed to more malpractice risk from a harmless MRI than from a dangerous CT scan.
