ISMRM SCIENTIFIC WORKSHOP ~ 5-8 September 2012
 

MR Safety in Practice: Now & In the Future
 Lund, Sweden
 

OVERVIEW
MR is constantly changing, involving more users, new technology and new applications. In parallel, demands are increasing for safe or conditional implants and devices in various MR environments, and new regulations and guidelines are emerging to manage risk to patients and also to workers.

In the endeavor to maintain safe practice while making current and new technologies in MR broadly available, clinically and in research, this workshop will address safety issues from a practical point of view. Included will be updates on safety standards and regulations, and real-life approaches to specifying and interpreting conditions for implants and devices. It will also address more recent safety issues (particularly RF) associated with new technologies, such as parallel transmit and ultra-high field strength MR systems.

While it is too early to establish all content, we anticipate a need to recognize the impact of the upcoming EC EMF directive, which will be covered during this workshop.
 

TARGET AUDIENCE
This workshop is designed for physicians, physicists, engineers, technologists, radiographers and anyone else responsible for safety in MR, or involved in the development of technology, guidelines and procedures that will influence MR safety in practice.
 

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this workshop, participants should be able to:
  • Describe MR safety concerns related to static magnetic fields, time-varying gradient fields and radio-frequency fields;
  • Interpret and implement current MR safety standards and guidelines;
  • Design routines to avoid, handle and report incidents and adverse events;
  • Explain risks related to MR conditional implants and external equipment in the MR environment;
  • Describe RF-heating and SAR characteristics of UHF and parallel transmit MRI systems;
  • Explain the impact of the new EC EMF directive on MR practice; and
  • Describe new safety issues emerging when using ultra-high magnetic fields.