'Sex in MRI scanner': Couple's Experiment Changed How Doctors See the Body

New Delhi: Thirty years ago, a couple agreed to take part in an unusual science study in the Netherlands. The aim was to use an MRI machine to see what happens inside the human body during close physical contact. This was not about making headlines but about helping medical science learn more about anatomy in real time. 

Who took part and why?

In 1991, a woman named Ida Sabelis and her partner Jupp joined a research project with a Dutch scientist, Menko Victor van Andel. They entered an MRI scanner together, holding still long enough for the powerful imaging machine to record what was happening inside. The couple agreed to this unusual role to help researchers better understand how the body works in intimate moments. 

What did the images show?

The images captured were surprising. They challenged long-held assumptions in anatomy. For decades, textbooks showed certain body parts as straight and simple. But the MRI images revealed more accurate shapes and positions of internal structures. These findings contradicted ideas that dated back hundreds of years, and helped doctors better understand how human bodies actually function. 

Why does it matter now?

The study was published in the British Medical Journal in 1999 and went on to influence medical teaching and research. Experts say it remains relevant because it opened a new window into real-time body imaging. The work did not focus on the sensational aspect, but on the scientific value of clear, live visuals of how anatomy works under natural conditions, knowledge that has helped students and doctors appreciate human anatomy in a more accurate way.

What do the participants say today?

Years later, Ida, now a professor at Amsterdam’s Vrije University, has spoken about the experience as both unusual and meaningful. She says the project was never about publicity, but about expanding scientific understanding. She remembers the sounds and confined space of the MRI machine, but also the sense that the work was contributing to something larger than themselves. 

Sharing about the experiment at the 'What Was It Like' podcast, Ida said, "This was one of the first MRI machines ever, so taking the photos took some time. There was a command from the control room to keep in position for, I don’t know, a minute." 

Recalling the experience as 'hilarious', Ida said how the plan for missionary had to be changed when they realised that they couldn't fit. 

"Jupp and I wriggled into that machine and started doing our thing. It wasn’t romantic, it was more like an act of love and a performance," Ida said