Measurement of Occupational Exposure to RF and Gradient Fields in an Open 1T MR System

Myles Capstick¹, Sven Kuehn¹, Michael Oberle¹, Rebecca Quest², Annie Papadaki², Marc Rea², Donald McRobbie², Niels Kuster

Interventional MR procedures in an open 1T MRI scanner have been investigated for occupational exposure of staff to electric and/or magnetic fields and/or magnetic flux density values that exceed action values (AVs) defined in the EU Directives 2004/40/EC and 2008/46/EC. A specific measurement procedure and analysis to systematically measure field strengths during pre-selected procedures with regard to movements of a radiologist has been developed and applied. Measurements have been performed with clinical as well as specific test sequences. The results have been compared with the existing AVs of Directive 2004/40/EC.