Mark Gordon
Sales Director, MRI Devices
Q: How can MRI-Devices assist the Anaesthetist with an interest in MRI Anaesthesia?
A: As many of your readers are all too aware, Magnetic Resonance Imaging provides a challenging environment for the provision of Anaesthesia. Our focus has allowed us to bring together a range of the very best gold standard products which support the Anaesthetist in minimising these anaesthetic difficulties and risks within the MRI environment. These products include Patient Vital Signs Monitors, Pumps for Drug Infusion and Delivery, and Anaesthesia and Ventilation Systems.
Q: For those not experienced in the MRI world, what are the difficulties and Risks you have referred to?
A: There are very specific dangers in MRI. In the MRI environment, there is a risk that equipment such as gas cylinders, monitoring equipment even the anaesthetic system itself may become projectiles being magnetically pulled across the room at great speed. This is a real danger which can result in fatality. Due to the way that the MRI scanner builds up its images using radio frequencies (RF), any additional electrical equipment introduced into the scan room will also produce RF and this can compromise the quality of the images. Also the Scanner itself produces RF and this can corrupt the data received from the monitoring/anaesthetic systems RF induced electrical currents can also seriously burn patients, unless correct MRI conditional equipment is used. In addition to the above, new legislation suggests that Anaesthetists should not remain within the scanner room, during the scan procedure, thus reducing the Anaesthetist’s exposure to the RF and high volume sound within the Scanner Room.
Q: How does the provision of Dedicated MRI Devices assist Anaesthetists with an interest in MR?
A: In short we need to ensure we negate the risks as described above. Product features and the resulting benefits can help to negate some if not all of these MR risks. Rated at 10,000 gauss MRI Devices offer the world’s only fluid delivery system designed specifically for high Tesla MRI. Its wireless communication means that changes to the patient’s drug volume requirements can be undertaken remotely without the need to stop the scanner and enter the scan room. It high gauss rating securing safe and reliable functionality Rated at 5,000 gauss, MRI Devices offer the World’s Gold Standard MRI Monitor. Its design and engineering have given us a portable wireless communication unit that offers flexibility, quality monitoring, ease of use and the very highest of patient safety. It high gauss rating securing safe and reliable functionality MRI-Devices can now also offer an Anaesthesia and Ventilation System which has been specifically designed for the MRI environment, built to your specification, but offering up to 7 ventilation modes, if required. Again its gauss rating secures safe and reliable functionality.
Q: So what is Gauss rating and why is it so important?
A: The power of your MRI scanner is measured in its Tesla size, simply the higher the Tesla the stronger it’s magnetic pull. It is important to remember that over a relatively short number of years your hospital may have undertaken an upgrade of its MRI scanner from a 0.5T to a 3.0T scanner. Your existing Anaesthetic equipment may have been perfectly safe / functional with your old 0.5T scanner, but may pose a significant risk when used with a 3T scanner. To this end, many MRI units will no longer allow equipment rated at less than 1,000 gauss into the Scanner Room. In simple terms, the higher the Gauss rating of your equipment the safer it is in your scanner room, (as it remains safer / functional nearer the scanner.) Again don’t be fooled, you may be informed that equipment is 3T compatible; but it is the Gauss rating that tells you at what distance it is compatible. Anything can be said to be 3T compatible if you have an infinitely large room!
Q: Looking to the future, what are your key objectives for MRI-Devices?
A: We will strive to continue to provide our Anaesthetic customers with only the very best in product quality, value for money and customer service. We will listen to our customer’s feedback and act upon this. We will continue to source new, customer requested products, but only if they are the very highest of quality. We aim to offer a one stop, quality shop for all things MRI, together with other closely related Anaesthetic and Radiology products. To remain independent of all the OEM’s thus enabling us to offer the best products available to all end users irrespective of which manufacturer they have purchased their scanner from.
For more information on MRI Devices, please log onto www.mri-devices.com or email customerservices@mri-devices.com
