November 2015 • Vol. 4, Issue 4


HT TOPIC

SMRT Provides Resources for MR Safety

  Vera Kimbrell, BS, RT(R) (MR) FSMRT
SMRT Safety Committee Chair 2015-2016
   

The MR safety world continues to be a busy place. Unfortunately despite our best efforts, safety lapses occur around the globe. Each event gives us all pause as we reflect on our own safety practices. As a community we’ve worked diligently to educate ourselves and others in an effort to prevent future incidents. The most recent incident ‘in the news’ from France was a RF heating event and caused significant patient injury. A recent ‘near miss’ with a pacemaker reminds us of the need to maintain constant vigilance.

The SMRT Safety Committee has been working tirelessly to give MR Technologists and Radiographers information and education along with advocating at all levels. You will see a new Safety page as part of the ISMRM/SMRT website. We hope you will be pleased both with the content and the idea of a single location to access safety related information.

In the last few months committee members have worked to give you on-line safety talks to fulfill gaps in regulatory and general knowledge. Please let us know of additional information you would like to see.

We have worked with several of the implant manufacturers and the FDA to provide the ‘technologist’ prospective as new guidelines and implants create continued challenges. It’s a complicated problem and not one we can easily solve. We continue to try and use our voice to advocate better labeling and more education.

If live meetings are more your cup of tea there are several with safety slants in the USA and around the world. Below are links to a few of note. We hope you will avail yourself of either the offering on-line or a meeting near you.

IPEM: MR Safety Update conference

SMRT Mid-Atlantic Regional Educational Seminar

SMRT ANZ Chapter 10th Annual Meeting

 

Signals is a publication produced four times per calendar year by the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine for the benefit of the SMRT membership and those individuals and organizations that support the educational programs and professional advancement of the SMRT and its members. The newsletter is the compilation of editor, Julie Strandt-Peay, BSM, RT (R)(MR) FSMRT, the leadership of the SMRT and the staff in the ISMRM Central Office with contributions from members and invited participants.