When I wrote about my depression diagnosis back in '22 I mentioned the concern about dementia because of symptoms such as poor memory and personality change.
The doctor ruled it out and said these were physical symptoms of my depression. While that's still most likely the case, the doctor I have been seeing recently at least considered it worth investigating even though she largely agreed with that diagnosis.
The upshot was that I went to hospital yesterday for an MRI scan.
I've heard stories about MRI machines (including from my wife when she had one nearly 30 years ago) being very noisy with lots of 'clanking'. Maybe it's changes in the technology since then but there wasn't really any clanking involved.
On entering the scanner room you immediately hear a repetitive high pitched 'chirping' sound. This is the 'cold head' that recondences helium gas to liquid which is used to keep the magnetic coils in a super-cooled state.
I lay on the 'table' and was given ear defenders while my head was packed in place with what I can only describe as some kind of small cushion. I was then handed a rubber bulb on the end of a tube (like the pump on a manual blood pressure checker) which I could squeeze to alert the staff of any issues.
Finally a sort of cage was positioned in front of my face which contained a periscope-like arrangement so that I could see out — straight down my body — to the staff behind a window.
The table retracted into the MRI machine and the noises began; first a series of noises that I thought were warning beeps (but have since discovered are the 'asset calibration can't) followed by sounds of movement and low rhythmic thumps. I was immediately reminded of the 'thumpers' from Frank Herbert's Dune — until the proper noises kicked in. Not clanks but beeps, bloops and buzzes, regular tempo but varying in pitch and intensity knowing that each buzz meant the machine was gradually slicing through my brain! 😱
As I lay there (a scan takes about 20 minutes) I started to pick out the differing harmonics from the sounds, enjoying the variety, wishing I could have recorded them, and wondering how they would translate to a techno track with a solid 4 to the floor beat behind them. Apparently I'm not the only one.
I've found some videos on YouTube which go into more detail on the sounds so maybe I could sample them.
