MRI Scans
We have locations throughout the New York City area.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive medical test that helps doctors at NYU Langone’s imaging services diagnose and treat certain medical conditions. MRI uses a powerful magnetic field, radio frequency pulses, and a computer to produce detailed pictures of organs, soft tissues, bone, and other internal structures of the body. X-rays are not used as part of this technology.
Schedule Using Our App
If your doctor has ordered an imaging exam through your NYU Langone Health MyChart account, you can schedule most imaging exams using the NYU Langone Health app.
Learn MoreImages can be displayed and examined on a computer monitor, transmitted electronically, printed, or copied to a CD. Radiologists at NYU Langone review and interpret your MRI results to diagnose a variety of different diseases, including abdominal, cardiac, musculoskeletal, neurological, and spine-related conditions.
NYU Langone MRI scanners have short bore technology, which makes for a more comfortable scanning experience. Short bore means that the length of the tube you're in during the scan is shorter than usual. Your head and neck may be outside the tube, unless that is the area you are having scanned.
If you are claustrophobic, please discuss this with your doctor prior to your MRI appointment. If sedation is prescribed by your doctor, notify the front desk when you arrive that you are taking prescribed medication for your exam.
Why Doctors Order an MRI Scan
NYU Langone doctors use detailed MRI images to better evaluate various parts of the body in order to determine the presence of certain diseases that may not be adequately assessed with other imaging methods, such as X-rays, ultrasound, or CT scans.
However, MRI takes longer than a CT scan, and may not be ideal for all parts of the body. For example, air-filled structures, such as the lungs, are not well evaluated with MRI and may be better evaluated using CT.
Depending on what information your doctor needs, the MRI scan may require the use of a contrast agent given through a vein to assist doctors in seeing certain anatomical structures within your body.
For Those with Implanted Devices
Because MRI technology involves the use of a magnetic field, our schedulers need to ask if you have any metal implanted devices, as well as the make and model of those devices.
The reason for these questions is that certain implants may prevent you from having your exam for safety reasons. Asking as much information up front helps us make your experience at the time of the scan as efficient and as fast as possible.
Examples of problematic implants include:
- cardiac pacemakers or old pacemaker wires
- brain aneurysm clips
- middle ear prostheses
- neurostimulators
Please tell the intake personnel and your technologist if you have a prosthetic device, such as a hip or knee replacement. In most cases, the presence of this type of replacement does not exclude you from having an imaging exam performed. This information is helpful, though, in terms of modifying the type of MRI study performed.
Patients should not wear any eye makeup or hairspray. Believe it or not, they contain metal and can cause problems in a MRI scanner.
What to Bring to Your MRI Scan
Please bring any previous imaging study results, such as reports, films, or CD-ROMs, from tests that may include X-rays, MRI scans, and CT scans, if they are available.
On the day of your exam, bring your prescription, insurance card, and any related insurance forms or pre-approvals. We are able to play a variety of music during your MRI—if you have a preference, simply bring a CD or iPod.
Preparing for an MRI Scan
Preparation for your MRI depends on the type of exam you are having. If you are having a cholangiogram, or a magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, you need to fast for four hours prior to your exam. If you are having an MR-enterography exam, you are required to drink oral contrast.
If your doctor has ordered an MRI with contrast using gadolinium, and you have a history of diabetes, kidney problems, or high blood pressure, you must have your creatinine level checked prior to your MRI. The blood test must be taken within six weeks of your exam. If you have had or will be having a liver transplant, the bloodwork must be performed within one week of the exam.
During the MRI Scan
When you schedule your appointment, our scheduling associate lets you know how early to arrive. Depending on the exam, it may be 30 to 60 minutes before your appointment. This allows you enough time to register and complete all necessary paperwork, forms, or questionnaires.
Please indicate any possibility of pregnancy to your physician and the scheduling office when you book the appointment. When you arrive, inform the MRI technologist as well.
Gowns are provided for your exam. We have private dressing rooms with lockers for your clothes and valuables, although we recommend that you leave your valuables at home.
Please remove all body piercings, jewelry, watches, eyeglasses, hairpins, wallets, and other metallic objects prior to your exam.
After you have removed all metal objects, our MRI technologist positions you on the table of the scanner. Your head is placed in a padded plastic cradle or on a pillow, and the table slides into the scanner. An intercom system allows you and the technologist to communicate with each other at all times.
In order to obtain clear pictures, you are asked to hold very still and to relax. You may be asked to hold your breath for up to 20 seconds. Any movement during the scan, especially of your head or back—even moving your jaw to talk—can blur and degrade the pictures.
The machine makes rapid, loud thumping noises as it takes images. During this time, you should breathe quietly and normally and refrain from moving, coughing, or wiggling. There are multiple series of image acquisitions, each with its own particular noises. When the thumping noise stops, you must be still and maintain your position in the scanner.
The entire exam typically takes between 30 and 60 minutes depending on exam type.
After an MRI Scan
After your procedure, you are escorted back to the dressing room. You are typically able to leave and resume your regular diet and activities. Occasionally, a procedure requires that you stay to be monitored afterward. If you brought prior images for comparison, you can pick them up at the front desk when you leave.
Our specialized radiologists read the MRI images and dictate a report that is sent immediately to your referring physician, who contacts you with the results.
Our Locations (25)
Manhattan
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NYU Langone Radiology—32nd Street
150 East 32nd Street, New York, NY, 10016
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MRI and Ultrasound Phone212-263-8868
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MRI and Ultrasound Fax212-263-2290
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Vascular Interventional Radiology Phone212-263-5898
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Vascular Interventional Radiology Fax212-263-2290
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NYU Langone Radiology—Ambulatory Care Center East 41st Street
222 East 41st Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY, 10017
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NYU Langone Radiology—Ambulatory Care Center East 53rd Street
159 East 53rd Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY, 10022
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Phone:646-754-2800
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Fax:929-455-9838
Getting Here
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NYU Langone Radiology—Center for Biomedical Imaging
660 First Avenue, New York, NY, 10016
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NYU Langone Radiology—Gramercy Diagnostic Radiology
380 Second Avenue, Ground Floor, New York, NY, 10010
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NYU Langone Radiology—NYU Langone Orthopedic Center
333 East 38th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY, 10016
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NYU Langone Radiology—Tisch Hospital
560 First Avenue, 2nd Floor, Tisch South Elevator, New York, NY, 10016
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MRI Scheduling212-263-8868
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MRI Fax212-263-2290
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Neurointerventional Radiology Scheduling212-263-6008
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Neurointerventional Radiology Fax212-263-0405
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Nuclear Medicine Scheduling212-263-7410
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Nuclear Medicine Fax212-263-7519
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Vascular Interventional Radiology Scheduling212-263-5898
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Vascular Interventional Radiology Fax212-263-7914
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Perlmutter Cancer Center Radiology—34th Street
160 East 34th Street, 2nd and 3rd Floors, New York, NY, 10016
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Breast Imaging, Breast Ultrasound, and Mammography Phone212-731-5002
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Breast Imaging, Breast Ultrasound, and Mammography Fax212-263-7387
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Breast MRI, MRI and PET/CT scans, and X-ray Imaging Phone212-263-8868
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Breast MRI, MRI and PET/CT scans, and X-ray Imaging Fax212-263-7356
Getting Here
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Brooklyn
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NYU Langone Radiology—Ambulatory Care Bay Ridge
6740 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11220
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NYU Langone Radiology—Greenpoint
74 Kent Street, Ground Floor, Brooklyn, NY, 11222
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NYU Langone Radiology—Premier Imaging—Midwood
813 Quentin Road, Suite 200, Brooklyn, NY, 11223
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NYU Langone Radiology—Premier Imaging—Park Slope
348 13th Street, Suite 101, Brooklyn, NY, 11215
Queens
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NYU Langone Radiology—NRAD, Hillcrest
80-15 164th Street, Jamaica Estates, NY, 11432
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NYU Langone Radiology—Premier Imaging—Astoria
23-18 31st Street, Astoria, NY, 11105
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NYU Langone Radiology—Queens Medical Imaging
69-15 Austin Street, Forest Hills, NY, 11375
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Perlmutter Cancer Center—Rego Park
97-77 Queens Boulevard, Rego Park, NY, 11374
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Radiology Phone718-261-8686
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Radiology Fax718-261-3803
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Infusion Phone718-517-6557
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Infusion Fax718-517-6558
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Staten Island
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NYU Langone Radiology—Regional Radiology—Bard Avenue
360 Bard Avenue, Staten Island, NY, 10310
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NYU Langone Radiology—Regional Radiology—Outerbridge
4849 Arthur Kill Road, Staten Island, NY, 10309
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NYU Langone Radiology—Regional Radiology—Richmond Avenue
3917 Richmond Avenue, Staten Island, NY, 10312
Long Island
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NYU Langone Radiology—Metropolitan Diagnostic Imaging—Garden City
224 Seventh Street, Garden City, NY, 11530
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NYU Langone Radiology—Next Generation Radiology—Great Neck
560 Northern Boulevard, Suite 102, Great Neck, NY, 11021
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General Information516-222-2022
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Fax516-229-3550
Getting Here
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NYU Langone Radiology—NRAD, Garden City
765 Stewart Avenue, Garden City, NY, 11530
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NYU Langone Radiology—NRAD, Lake Success
6 Ohio Drive, Lake Success, NY, 11042
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NYU Langone Radiology—NRAD, Woodbury
105 Froehlich Farm Boulevard, Woodbury, NY, 11797
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NYU Langone Radiology—NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island
259 First Street, Mineola, NY, 11501
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Interventional Radiology, MRI, and Ultrasound Procedures Phone516-663-2376
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Interventional Radiology, MRI, and Ultrasound Procedures Fax516-663-8137
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Nuclear Medicine Phone516-663-2778
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Nuclear Medicine Fax516-663-3823
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PET/CT Phone516-663-2300
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PET/CT Fax516-663-9642
Getting Here
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