Lessons Learned: MRI | May 14th, 2009 | Author: admin

The MRI tech had an issue. His patients were complaining about how cold it was in the MRI. I checked the settings in the Energy Management Software and the room was set to a range between 68 and 72 degrees. A bit cool, but certainly not the “ice box” that they were describing. So I came up with a novel explanation. The patients were anxious about the MRI exam, their adrenaline got pumping and this created the sensation of the room being cold. Elementary my dear Watson.

Unimpressed the MRI tech invited me into the room. Damn that place was cold!

As it turns out, the signal from the thermostat in the room was being disturbed by either the magnetic field or the RF signal generated by the MRI. After some discussions with the MRI vendor, it turns out t-stats are not a good idea in the MRI room for the very reasons we were encountering. Signal interruption.

Instead, we simply placed a temperature probe into the return air duct outside of the room and connected it to the heat pump controlling the space. This method gives a very accurate indication of the room temperature and prevents any interference between the MRI and thermostat.

Lesson Learned: Rather than place a thermostat in the MRI room, simply place a temperature probe in the return air duct outside of the room. This places the temperature monitoring outside the shielding of the MRI room, avoiding the need to run the wires though a wave guide (AKA RF filter).

Tags: MRI, RF FIlter, RF Interference, Thermostat, Wave Guide

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