Understanding of the Existing & Future Medical Procedures with MR Scanners: A Novel Tool for Estimation of Occupational Exposure

Valentina Hartwig¹, Rossana Tortorelli², Nicola Vanello², Giulio Giovannetti¹, Vincenzo Positano³, Luigi Landini², Maria Filomena Santarelli¹

Occupational workers operating magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS) are repetitively and lengthy exposed to large static magnetic fields and to low frequency time varying magnetic fields. In 2004, the European Union adopted the Physical Agents (Electromagnetic Fields) Directive 2004/40/EC on the health and safety requirements for exposure to electromagnetic fields in the workplaces, which introduces significant restrictive limits on the use of clinical MRI. In this work a novel tool to estimate the induced current density due to worker movements in static magnetic field is presented. This tool represents a valid instrument to find the worst-case exposures situations.