For MRI safety, how is padding primarily used?

The primary use of padding in MRI safety is to restrain movement. Padding helps to stabilize the patient within the MRI machine, ensuring that they remain still throughout the imaging process. This is essential for obtaining high-quality images, as any movement can lead to artifacts or distortions in the images captured by the MRI scanner.

While comfort and reducing radiofrequency exposure are important considerations in MRI, the role of padding specifically emphasizes movement restriction. Enhancing image quality is also a consequence of successfully restraining movement, but it is not the primary purpose of the padding itself. Therefore, focusing on how padding restricts movement clarifies its crucial role in MRI safety and procedural effectiveness.