Patient Positioning in Breast MRI

• Position patient prone, head first into the scanner with arms by the side.   Head to one side and chest relaxed onto the breast coil.  Place a pillow under the ankles to keep feet off the pads.
• The breasts must be centrally placed in the coil recesses with minimal distortion.   Surround small breasts with soft padding (face washers) to minimise pendulous movement during breathing and scanning.
• Each breast should be centered from superior to inferior within the aperture of the dedicated breast coil . 
• Areas of high signal intensity will result where breast tissue is adjacent to coil elements . 
• The breasts should be pulled away from the chest wall into the two holes in the bilateral breast coil. 
• As little breast tissue as possible should remain above the coil apertures. 
• Improper positioning can result in compression of breast tissue between the chest wall and the center partition of the breast coil