After measurement (FAQ, tips, etc)
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
When will I get my test results?
- Immediately after the MRI measurement, you may receive a CD from us as a thank you for participating in the study, which will contain anatomical images of the area measured (usually the brain). You can then view them in the comfort of your own home or give them to your doctor. Individuals do not receive any other specific results from the measurements from us. Studies are usually designed so that a predetermined number of volunteers must first be measured, and then the data begins to be processed in bulk.
- Immediately after the MRI measurement, you may receive a CD from us as a thank you for participating in the study, which will contain anatomical images of the area measured (usually the brain). You can then view them in the comfort of your own home or give them to your doctor. Individuals do not receive any other specific results from the measurements from us. Studies are usually designed so that a predetermined number of volunteers must first be measured, and then the data begins to be processed in bulk.
When will a paper/study that I participated in come out?
- It can usually take several years from the first volunteer visit to the article. Data needs to be measured from a predetermined number of volunteers, then the data needs to be processed and the results described in an article. The latter can only be published, which is a rather lengthy process. Even so, we recommend following our website, where we link to publications that have been published in connection with our lab: https://mafil.ceitec.cz/en --- projects and publications tab.
Why does MRI make so much noise? Can't you turn it off?
- Unfortunately, there is no way to remove the strong noise that the machine makes during the measurements. It is part of the principle of MRI. The noise is created when the gradient coils in the machine are switched. Before the measurement, each volunteer will be given earplugs (or special headphones) to make the measurement itself as comfortable as possible and to avoid damage to their hearing.
- Unfortunately, there is no way to remove the strong noise that the machine makes during the measurements. It is part of the principle of MRI. The noise is created when the gradient coils in the machine are switched. Before the measurement, each volunteer will be given earplugs (or special headphones) to make the measurement itself as comfortable as possible and to avoid damage to their hearing.
How you can print a model of your own brain on a 3D printer
Before you start printing, you will need the following:
- MRI data of your brain (T1 scan, but maybe T2). Files should be in NIFTI (.nii or .nii.gz) or DICOM (.dcm or no extension) format. If the hospital or other facility only provides you with PNG files, unfortunately these cannot be processed for 3D printing.
- FreeSurfer: We have tested version 5.3.0 (but newer versions will probably work) of the program running in Virtualbox under Windows. If you are using Mac/Linux, then you need to install the version for those operating systems.
- MeshLab: For mesh processing and enhancement (surface).
- 3D Printer
The actual processing guide (which we also use) is shown here.
How to view the data you have received
Data measured by MRI is usually stored in a standard format for displaying clinical data - DICOM. Each CD we give to volunteers has a data viewer included with the data. If you wish to use a different viewer, you can choose from a wide range of free viewers such as MRIcro, MicroDicom, etc.