Hand-Held Patient Screener Assesses MRI Safety

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 24 Aug 2020

A portable screening device detects metallic items prior to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) patient scanning, including in Zone 4 facilities.

The CEIA (Arezzo, Italy) PD240CH-Z4 is an MRI patient screening device designed to mitigate the risk of a radiofrequency (RF) burn and projectile risk during an MRI scan. The device can separately detecting ferrous metallic items alone, or all non-ferrous metallic items. Due to its non-magnetic device construction, it can be used inside the MRI room (Zone 4) itself, without the risk of being attracted to or damaged by the magnets, thus not comprising performance or creating a potential projectile risk. It can also be utilized as part of the pre-screening process outside of the MRI room.

Image: The PD240CH-Z4 MRI patient screening device (Photo courtesy of CEIA)

The PD240CH-Z4 features a large detection area for fast and accurate screening operations, with dual-tone and dual-color signaling that enables high precision pinpointing of item location. To maximize screening flexibility and versatility, three modes of operation are available: HEAD - high performance ferrous only for very small magnetic metals, BODY – small magnetic metals detection typically in the body, or ALL METALS - all metal detection around the whole body. Operability and safety of the device have been verified with up to 3T MRI scanners.

An MRI contains powerful magnetic field that attracts ferrous (iron-containing) metals and can cause serious injury; when ferrous-based materials, nickel alloys, and most stainless steel materials reach the MRI magnet’s fringe field, they can be strongly attracted, at high speed (up to 60 km/h), towards the bore of the magnet, known as the projectile effect. The magnetic field also causes translational forces, wherein the attracted objects react by aligning parallel to the magnetic lines of force. This effect has created life-threatening conditions for patients with some medical implants. And even in the absence of injury, metal objects can distort the MRI image and make it difficult to read.

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