Just a few years ago, a six-year-old boy was killed during his magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam when an oxygen tank became magnetized and airborne, fatally hitting him in the head. This is not an isolated incident; despite the well-known risks of MRI, numerous injuries are still reported each year.

As MRI technology advances, the potential for incidents and injury of patients and staff increases. The growing popularity of stronger systems for cardiac imaging can lead to confusion about which devices are safe to use in the environment, potentially creating new hazards. How will these changes and advancements affect hospitals and healthcare facilities? How will they ensure the MR environment is as safe as possible for patients and staff?

These and other issues will be discussed during ECRI's upcoming audio conference, "MRI Safety and Medical Devices," on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 from 1:00 to 2:15 p.m. EDT (12:00 to 1:15 p.m. CDT; 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. MDT; 10:00 to 11:15 a.m. PDT). Experts will address MRI's potential hazards, pacemakers and MRI, American College of Radiology safe practice guidelines, issues involved with stronger systems, and proposed changes in MR terminology. Participants will also receive a free Health Devices "MRI Safety and Medical Devices" Guidance Article.

Speakers include:Emanuel Kanal, MD, FACR, Director, Magnetic Resonance Services, Professor of Radiology and Neuroradiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA

Jason H. Launders, MSc, Senior Medical Physicist, Health Devices Group, ECRI, Plymouth Meeting, PA

Terry O. Woods, Ph.D., FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories, Division of Solid and Fluid Mechanics, Rockville, MD

James Keller, MS, Moderator, Director, Health Devices Group, ECRI, Plymouth Meeting, PA

The registration fee is $129 for members of ECRI's SELECTplus�, Health Devices System, Health Devices Gold, and Healthcare Risk Control System; the cost is $229 for nonmembers. The deadline for registration and payment is Friday, September 16, 2005.

Conference recordings and course materials for "MRI Safety and Medical Devices," the third of four audio conferences in ECRI's 2005 series, are also available for sale on CD or audiocassette. For those who missed ECRI's previous audio conferences, "Radio-frequency Identification for Tracking Medical Devices: Planning for Today and Tomorrow" (May 18, 2005), "Electrosurgery and Patient Safety: Critical Measures for Minimizing Risk" (March 16, 2005), "HIPAA Compliance for Biomedical Technology" (November 10, 2004), "Bar-Coded-Enabled Point-of-Care Systems" (September 22, 2004), "Next Generation PACS: Planning, Purchasing, and Implementation" (May 12, 2004), and "Bariatric and Other Surgeries on Obese Patients" (March 10, 2004), recordings with conference materials are still available for purchase.
 

http://www.gzjiayumed.com/en/index.asp