MRI Clothing Safety
The top priority of the MRI department is the safety of our patients. One such safety standard the MRI Department follows is to require every MRI patient to change into a hospital cotton gown. We are often asked, “Why do we have to change into a gown?” Our answer, “MRI requires everyone to change into a hospital cotton gown because protecting our patients from any risk associated with thermal burns is one of our top priorities.”
Did you know that reports of second-degree thermal burns to the FDA are the most reported MRI safety issue? A patient can get an MRI associated burn due to such factors as radiofrequency, how they are positioned in the MRI machine, or by some fabrics that serve as a conductor.
MRI Scanners have very strong magnetic fields, and any kind of metal can interact with that magnetic field to create a hazard. Some clothing fabrics have metallic objects such as buttons, zippers or gromets, even our undergarments can have metal clasps or hooks that can be heated up by the magnetic field and burn the skin of the patient who is undergoing an MRI. One simple way to ensure our patients' safety is to ask every patient to change into a hospital gown. We work closely with our nursing staff to ensure every patient is dressed in a hospital gown for their MRI exams. Diagnostic Imaging Associates MRI Technologists work diligently to keep our patients safe during an MRI exam.
The most recent threat to patients for a thermal burn is by wearing athletic clothing. We understand that athletic clothing is comfortable, but this clothing can have odor eliminating wicking or antimicrobial characteristics. A few examples of athletic clothing are running apparel, socks, orthotics, and some underwear. These new fabrics contain impregnated silver or copper throughout the material creating the potential to cause burns when the metal heats up during the MRI scan. It is not always known if the material contains metal, that is because if the fabric has less than five percent silver or copper impregnated the manufacturer is not required to record it on the product label. However, burns can occur with such a small amount of impregnated metal.
Our policy at Midland Health is to require all patients to change into a hospital provided gown to help eliminate any chance of thermal burns. The safety of our MRI patients is always our top priority!
Written by Kedron Huggins
MRI Technologist
Diagnostic Imaging Associates