Globally Applicable MR Safety Course for Medical Students
Steffen Sammet1 and Christina Louise Sammet2,3

1Department of Radiology, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States, 2Department of Radiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States, 3Department of Medical Imaging, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States

Synopsis

We propose an educational magnetic resonance (MR) safety course for instructing medical students world-wide about basic MR and patient-related safety. The MR safety course material can be implemented as a traditional didactic or interactive lecture in combination with hands-on safety demonstrations and will prepare medical students for patient screening and safety consultations when ordering MR studies. This course can be implemented globally by various medical school programs to ensure consistent quality of teaching materials and MR safety standards.

Purpose

This educational exhibit outlines the design of a globally applicable educational MR safety module with a concise multiple choice exam for instructing medical students about basic MR and patient related safety. The MR safety course can be implemented as a traditional didactic lecture, interactive, or self-administered online. The goal of the course is to make sure that medical students worldwide get a basic understanding of MR principles and safety considerations. It prepares the medical students for optimal ordering of MR studies while emphasizing patient screening and safety. A standardized multiple-choice exam, accessible through the internet and the program ExamWeb (Exam Web, LLC; New­port Beach, CA) at the end of the course documents the proficiency of the medical students. The course covers low field MRI systems in developing countries as well as state-of-the-art ultra high field MRI systems. It can be used universally by all medical school programs and will help to ensure consistent quality of teaching materials and MR safety standards.

Outline of Content

1.) Course description and examples of imple­mentation

2.) Importance of MR safety for physicians

3.) MR principles and magnetic fields

- Static magnetic fields (B0)

- Radiofrequency field (B1)

- Gradient fields (Gx, Gy, Gz)

4.) Effects of magnetic fields in an MR suite

- Attractive forces on ferromagnetic objects

- Projectile effects

- Thermal effects

- Peripheral nerve stimulation

5.) Types of MR systems

6.) Fringe fields and 5 Gauss line

7.) MR screening procedures

- Implanted devices (e.g. pacemakers, hearing aids, surgical implants)

- Pregnancy

- MR contrast agent reactions and renal insufficiency

8.) Emergency procedures in an MR suite

Summary

This educational exhibit will provide a com­pre­hensive overview on the implementation of an internationally applicable MR safety course for medical students. Education in MR safety for medical students will enable these future physicians to optimize requests for MR studies by increasing their understanding of patient screening and safety procedures.

Acknowledgements

This educational exhibit is supported in part by NIH/NINDS Grant #R25NS080949, NIH/NCI Grant #R25CA132822 and the Cancer Research Foundation.

References

Sammet S, Sammet C. Implementation of a Comprehensive MR Safety Course for Medical Students. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2015 Jul 14. doi: 10.1002/jmri.24993. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 26172156


Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 24 (2016)
3667