Help for anxious scanner patients
How upright scanners are helping people who suffer from claustrophobia and anxiety get treatment
‘On some occasions I attempted to get in the machine and then completely freaked out’
Nobody enjoys having an MRI scan, but if you’re among the one in four patients who suffer real anxiety at the prospect, you may find it impossible to have a scan.
Every year, up to 900,000 scans are disrupted because patients experience claustrophobia, meaning medical issues may go undetected or undiagnosed if doctors are unable to use an alternative method.
Kate Halliwell was one such patient. She had always struggled when undergoing the MRI scans she had been referred for over the years. “On some occasions I attempted to get in the machine and then completely freaked out and was not able to go through with it,” says Kate (54). “Once when I had a scan for a neck injury the experience was just horrendous. I ended up having to go for the scan three times, which meant delaying diagnosis. I only managed it on the last occasion when I was tranquillised and a kind nurse came to sit with me during the scan.”
So when Kate recently started having pains in her legs and was referred for an MRI scan to detect the problem, she was horrified at the thought of facing the process again. “I immediately felt sick and the thought of going through that ordeal again filled me with dread.”
Through a friend, Kate heard about a new kind of upright MRI scanner that allows patients to be scanned in a seated, open position. When she found there was one available near her in the Medserena Upright MRI Centre, Manchester, she decided to give it a go.
Kate says: “The upright scanner is so different; it doesn’t look intimidating and as it isn’t enclosed, it’s less scary. Because you’re sitting down you can move around a bit more, too. There was even a TV in front of me that I could watch as I was being scanned.”
The upright scanner, now available in clinics around the country, is designed to help claustrophobic or nervous patients. It offers all the same scans as a horizontal scanner with the bonus of being able to detect problems that can only be picked up when the patient is seated rather than lying down. This is especially useful for spinal problems as the vertebrae are in a more natural position. It even allows people with head and brain injuries to be scanned looking out of the scanner, again reducing anxiety and claustrophobia.
Kate says: “I found the upright scanner a totally different experience and I’ll definitely choose to have this if I need another MRI.”
To find out more, contact Medserena Upright MRI Centre on 0161 434 8039 or visit www.trulyopenmri.com