The Relation Between Anticipatory Anxiety and Movement During an MR Examination

Abstract

During a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination, patients are required to remain still to minimize motion that may compromise image quality and may make rescanning necessary. It is often assumed that anxiety, which is experienced by a considerable number of patients undergoing an MR examination, increases motion and decreases image quality. The present study explores the relationship between anxiety and movement of patients during an MR examination. Anxiety was measured subjectively by means of the State Anxiety Inventory and a visual analogue scale for claustrophobia. Motion and image quality were measured in three different ways. First, software was used that allows an estimation of motion based on tracker scans between the clinical scans. Second, the MRI technician who performed the MR examination was asked to indicate the degree of motion artifacts and image quality for each patient. Third, after all scans had been collected, two radiologists evaluated each clinical scan. No or low correlations between anxiety and the distinct measures of motion and image quality were found for all three measures. This finding shows that there is little evidence for the assumption that anxiety increases motion and decreases image quality during an MR examination.