Re: [LOOP] The MRI and Looping: For Ambient & Experimental Music?

[burnett@pobox.com]

On Tue, 6 Dec 2005, Kris Hartung wrote:

> I just had a most exhilarating experience: my first MRI (on my lower 
>back).  This was amazing. I laid down on a sliding table, and they pushed 
>me into a sarcophagus like tube with mere inches around my entire body.  
>They put large headphones on my head, and then for the next 30 minutes I 
>was eased into a seemingly euphoric and meditative state. What I heard 
>were a series of interesting sounds...from jackhammer-like hammering, to 
>buzzing or vibrating cycles, bizarre sci-fi industrial like sounds, and 
>so on. It was delightful.  The MRI technician said it was a rarity for 
>someone to actually enjoy that procedure.  At one point in time, I was in 
>a half waking/dream state and was awoke by my leg twitching.  I could 
>have stayed in there most of the day. And the amazing thing is that when 
>I asked about the source of the sounds, he said they were not 
>mechanically generated; rather, around my body, encased in metal, was a 
>giant electrical coil surrounded by helium, chilled down to a
  cool minus 270 degrees.  The sounds were a result of changes they were 
making in the electrical current and the resulting vibrations to the 
machine. Unbelievable...not sure how all that produces an image of my 
back, however.

When I had an MRI several years ago, the only reason I didn't fall asleep 
was the dratted nurse asking "are you ok?" every couple of minutes. 
Afterward I asked him how often people freak out and claw their way out (I 
inferred from his tone during the procedure he was checking for my 
attitude. His response was "Oh, at least once a week."

regards,
Steve B
http://www.subscapeannex.com/about_steve.html