Background: Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has been described as the most important medical innovation in\r\nthe last 25 years. Over 80 million MR procedures are now performed each year and on average 2.3% (95%\r\nconfidence interval: 2.0 to 2.5%) of all patients scheduled for MR imaging suffer from claustrophobia. Thus,\r\nprevention of MR imaging by claustrophobia is a common problem and approximately 2,000,000 MR procedures\r\nworldwide cannot be completed due to this situation. Patients with claustrophobic anxiety are more likely to be\r\nfrightened and experience a feeling of confinement or being closed in during MR imaging. In these patients,\r\nconscious sedation and additional sequences (after sedation) may be necessary to complete the examinations.\r\nFurther improvements in MR design appear to be essential to alleviate this situation and broaden the applicability\r\nof MR imaging. A more open scanner configuration might help reduce claustrophobic reactions while maintaining\r\nimage quality and diagnostic accuracy.\r\nMethods/Design: We propose to analyze the rate of claustrophobic reactions, clinical utility, image quality, patient\r\nacceptance, and cost-effectiveness of an open MR scanner in a randomized comparison with a recently designed\r\nshort-bore but closed scanner with 97% noise reduction. The primary aim of this study is thus to determine\r\nwhether an open MR scanner can reduce claustrophobic reactions, thereby enabling more examinations of\r\nclaustrophobic patients without incurring the safety issues associated with conscious sedation. In this manuscript\r\nwe detail the methods and design of the prospective ââ?¬Å?CLAUSTROââ?¬Â trial.\r\nDiscussion: This randomized controlled trial will be the first direct comparison of open vertical and closed shortbore\r\nMR systems in regards to claustrophobia and image quality as well as diagnostic utility.
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