Some patients more prone to MRI motion, with key implications for scheduling, procedure prep

Certain patients are more prone to MRI motion, with key implications for scheduling and procedure prep, according to new research. 

Patient movement is a common concern during such exams, with the potential to degrade quality and necessitate additional imaging. Researchers with UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, recently investigated how certain patient characteristics and sociodemographic factors might impact MRI delivery, sharing their findings in Academic Radiology. 

Their analysis included a total of nearly 69,000 MRIs delivered across two hospitals in 2022. They found that patients who were elderly, male, obese, or black were disproportionately impacted by motion on MRI, regardless of healthcare setting. 

“Accounting for motion-risk factors into scheduling, pre-scan counseling, and positioning protocols may reduce motion-limited studies,” Takeshi Yokoo, MD, PhD, and co-authors concluded. “Addressing these patterns through workflow design is important for promoting equitable, high-quality MRI across diverse patient populations.”

The study sample spanned both a large academic medical center, alongside a safety-net hospital also located in Dallas. Exams were acquired using standardized protocols and reported by a single academic radiology group. Motion was defined as any mention of the word in the report body or impression. 

Emergency and inpatient studies also had higher odds of motion compared to outpatient ones, the investigation found. After adjusting for various mitigating factors, older age (85 and up) remained associated with motion when compared to patients between 19 and 34. Men also had higher odds than women, and black patients faced greater risk than their white counterparts. Ethnicity, preferred language and health system location were not significantly associated with motion, the study found. The investigation’s overall reported motion rate was about 10%, in line with previous studies. 

Patient motion during MRI can contribute to quality-of-care disparities in radiology, the authors noted. Addressing these impediments has become a major priority for the American College of Radiology, led by its Radiology Health Equity Coalition. Yokoo and colleagues urged others in the field to utilize their learnings to address imaging disparities elsewhere.

“Our study’s findings underscore the need for further efforts to make MRI more tolerable for patients and disseminate technologies to overcome motion artifacts, while still delivering the necessary diagnostic information,” the authors advised. “Our findings also suggest an opportunity for patient-centric precision imaging strategies, such as individualized protocol optimization and pre-scan interventions (e.g., tailored instructions, comfort-focused positioning, abbreviated protocols for frail or elderly patients). These strategies may mitigate some of the potential downstream adverse outcomes caused by motion-limited MRI, such as diagnostic uncertainty, cost for repeating another MRI exam, and delay in clinical decision-making.”