by Tomo » Oct 19th, '06, 23:05
Well, unfortunately, there's more. It can really screw up an fMRI scan. The point being that when blood is placed in a strong magnetic field, the iron in the haemoglobin creates it's own tiny magnetic field. Oxygenated blood creates a stronger field, which is what flows into parts ofthe brain used in a particular cognitive task. This is what an fMRI scan picks up, but the results are rendered useless and can lead to misdiagnosis. The other problem is that the superconducting magnets will also make you look like that scene in Alien a split second after powering up.
So if you're planning on eating 5lbs of iron filings, it's probably best to do it after you have a scan.
Our local supersurgery's getting an MRI scanner, by the way. I'm thinking of paying to have a go in it and putting the results on a t-shirt.