MR Safety Guidance, Documents and Links

MR Safety Strategies to Help You Stay Current with MR Safety Standards

This is a partial list of MR Safety resources available online. The content of these sites is not controlled or endorsed in any way by the ISMRM or SMRT. If you have suggestions for additional sites, or one of the listed sites seems no longer functional, please let us know.

MR Safety Reference Documents

• A Closer Look at the Thresholds of Thermal Damage: Workshop Report by an ICNIRP Task Group (2016)
• ACR Addresses FDA Gadolinium Safety Concerns (2016)
• ACR contrast media manual (2018)
  • American College of Radiologists guidelines for contrast media
• ACR Guidance Document on MR Safe Practices: 2020
  • American College of Radiologist’s MR guidelines
• AHRA: Emergency Preparedness for Imaging Service Providers
• Austrian Standards: Safety officer for magnetic resonance equipment for medical diagnosis - Part 1: Responsibilities and competences
  • Austrian Standards. ÖNORM S 1125-1:2009 09 01 Safety officer for magnetic resonance equipment for medical diagnosis - Part 1: Responsibilities and competences, 2009.
• Austrian Standards: Safety officer for magnetic resonance equipment for medical diagnosis - Part 2: Requirements on training
  • Austrian Standards. ÖNORM S 1125-2:2009 09 01 Safety officer for magnetic resonance equipment for medical diagnosis - Part 2: Requirements on training. 2009.
• British Heart Rhythm Society: Safe use of MRI in people with cardiac implantable electronic devices (2015)
  • British Cardiology guidance document on the use of Pacemakers in MR scanners
• CAR Standard for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (2011)
  • Canadian Association of Radiologists MR guidelines
• Determinazione degli standard di sicurezza e impiego per le apparecchiature a risonanza magnetica (Note: article is in Italian)
  • CAMRT ASTM. Best practice guidelines. In: BPG home. Published Accessed June 15 2021. https://camrt-bpg.ca., MINISTERO DELLA SALUTE Determinazione degli standard di sicurezza e impiego per le apparecchiature a risonanza magnetica. (18A06555)
• EU Directives on MR safety (2013)
  • European Union MR safety guidelines
• FDA Guidance on "Assessment of RF-Induced Heating in the MR Environment for Multi-Configuration Passive Medical Devices" (2016) (pdf)
• FDA site for reporting adverse events (website last updated 2016)
  • A link to the Federal Drug Administration’s’ data base for reporting all adverse events
• FDA MR Safety Alert (2014)
  • MRI Safety: FDA Safety Communication
• FDA Safety Alert on Gadolinium (2015)
  • Gadolinium-based Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): Drug Safety Communication - FDA Evaluating the Risk of Brain Deposits With Repeated Use
• Gadolinium Retention Updates & Resources (2016)
  • Compiled for the SMRT by Greg Brown, A.Dip.Rad.Tech.
• GE Healthcare: Class I Recall (2015)
  • MRI Systems with Magnet Rundown Unit by GE Healthcare: Class I Recall - Potential Disabling of the Magnet Rundown Unit
• Guidelines for documentation and consent for nonclinical, nonresearch MRI in human subjects. (2017)
• Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Coronary Artery Stents Referred for MRI Procedures* (2021)
• Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Heart Valve Prostheses and Annuloplasty Rings Referred for MRI Procedures* (2021)
• Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Vascular Access Ports Referred for MRI Procedures* (2021)
• Guidelines for the Management of the Post-Operative (Post-Op) Patient Referred for an MRI Examination (2021)
• Guidelines for the safe provision of anaesthesia in magnetic resonance units (2019)
  • Guidelines from the Association of Anaesthetists and the Neuro Anaesthesia and Critical Care Society of Great Britain and Ireland
• IPEM safety statement (2013)
  • Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicines’ MR Safety Guidelines
• The Joint Commission Revised Requirements for Diagnostic Imaging Services (2015)
  • Joint Commission 2015 MR guidelines
• MHRA Safety Guidelines for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Equipment in Clinical Use
  • Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency MR guidance document
• MR Procedure Screening Form for Patients and Other Individuals (2018)
• MR system operator: recommended minimum requirements for performing MRI in human subjects in a research setting. (2015)
• MRISafety.com (website updated regularly)
  • A comprehensive list of implants and devices with conditional information; MRI safety topics; MRI screening policies and screening forms
• Patient safety in medical imaging: A joint paper of the European Society of Radiology (ESR) and the European Federation of Radiographer Societies (EFRS)
  • European Society of Radiology, European Federation of Radiographer Societies. Patient safety in medical imaging: A joint paper of the European Society of Radiology (ESR) and the European Federation of Radiographer Societies (EFRS). Radiography 2019;25(2):e26-e38.
• Protecting lone workers. How to manage the risks of working alone.
  • The health and safety executive (HSE) on behalf of the controller of Her Majesty’s stationery office. Protecting lone workers. How to manage the risks of working alone. Published 03/20 INDG73(rev4). Accessed 28 June 2021.
• RANZCR MRI Safety Guidelines (2017)
  • The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists MRI Safety Guidelines
• Recommended responsibilities for management of MR safety
  • Calamante F, Ittermann B, Kanal E, Inter-Society Working Group on MRS, Norris D. Recommended responsibilities for management of MR safety. Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI 2016;44(5):1067-1069.
• Safety Concerns with Implantable Infusion Pumps in the Magnetic Resonance (MR) Environment: FDA Safety Communication (2017)
• Safety in Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • SCor and BAMRR. Safety in Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Published Feb 2020. Accessed 3rd June 2021.
• U.S. Federal Safety Standards, Guidelines and Regulations for MRI Systems: An Overview (2015)
  • FDA’s MR safety guidelines
• Using MRI Safely – Practical Rules for Employees (2008)
  • Dutch guidelines on MR Safety