Overview

This three day course covers the scientific, technical and regulatory knowledge you need to safely use devices in the magnetic resonance (MR) environment.

All aspects of MR compatibility of devices are covered, including

• safety and efficaciousness
• device and MRI instrument functioning
• data quality

You'll also learn about the development of new devices destined for the MR environment.

The course’s overarching aims are to

• promote knowledge transfer and exchange between all people involved in developing devices for the MR environment and using them safely
• promote the concept of device future-proofing based on MR compatibility

Course content

The course will cover:

• Can I put this person with this thing inside the scanner?
  • Overview of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
  • Introduction to devices and the MR compatibility problem
  • Current regulations: applications and clinical management of devices in MRI
  • Clinical and research governance
• Physical principles for device design and applications
  • Theory of MR scanners
  • Hazards associated with the presence of devices in the MR environment
  • MR and device performance
  • Case studies
• Towards getting a device approved: standards and regulations
  • Passive vs. active devices in the MRI scanner
  • Evaluation of device-MR interactions
  • MRI RF safety evaluations for active and passive implantable medical devices

Who this course is for

This course is for:

• MR specialists (radiologists, technologists, physicists and engineers)
• device engineers, designers and inventors
• medical physicists and biomedical engineers
• safety officials and engineers
• researchers and practitioners.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, you'll be able to:

• describe the main safety and health hazards associated with the MR environment
• demonstrate a good understanding of the MR safety regulations
• describe the physical fields employed in the MR imaging instrument
• describe the potential physical interactions between any device and the MR fields, and consequences in terms of safety and device and MR instrument performance
• describe some of the means available for mitigating or eliminating the undesirable effects associated with device exposure to the MR environment

Cost and concessions 

The standard fee is £600.

There's a reduced price of £300 for student and junior radiographers.

Course team

Speakers

Louis Lemieux, PhD. Professor of Physics Applied to Medicine, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London UK.

John Thornton, PhD. Honorary Associate Professor, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and Consultant Clinical Scientist (Magnetic Resonance Physics), Head of Clinical MRI Physics & Computing, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London UK.

Anne Vanhoestenberghe, PhD. Senior Lecturer, UCL Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Sciences and Implanted Devices Group, UCL Dept of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, London UK.

Xavier Golay, PhD. Professor of MR Physics and Chair of MR Neurophysics & Translational Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London UK.

Aaron Oliver-Taylor, PhD. Chief Technical Officer, Gold Standard Phantoms, London, UK.

Anastasia Papadaki, PhD. Clinical Scientist, National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery, London UK.

Andrea Hill, BSc. Superintendent Radiographer, Epilepsy Imaging Group, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London UK.

Dave Dunham. Regulatory Affairs & Quality Manager - UK & Ireland, Medtronic Limited.

David Carmichael, PhD. Reader in Magnetic Resonance Physics, Wellcome EPSRC Centre for Medical Engineering, King's College London, London UK.

David Grainger, MSc. Device Specialist at Medicines and Healthcare Products, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, UK.

Geoff Charles-Edwards, PhD. Head of Magnetic Resonance Physics, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London UK.

Krunoslav Lopandic. Senior Technical Consultant, Medtronic Limited.

Oliver Josephs. Senior Engineer, The Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London UK.

Mario Bartolo, PhD. Director & Operations Manager, Brain Products UK.

Shaihan Malik, PhD. Senior Lecturer, Department of Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London UK.

And others from industry, to be confirmed.

Course information last modified: 30 Nov 2022, 16:00