Safety assessment of MRI workers carrying orthopedic implants

Motivation: Members of the medical staff may have orthopedic prostheses implanted in their body. Without a formal safety assessment, this might lead the competent authority to prevent them from entering the MRI room. Goal(s): To quantify the main physical effects that may occur in the body of a worker bearing bulky conductive and nonmagnetic implants, working near 1.5 T scanners. Approach: Realistic numerical simulations modelling the exposure to RF and gradient fields, and the Lenz effect due to the motion through the scanner stray stationary magnetic field. Results: The incremental risk due to the considered implants is negligible. Impact: This quantitative assessment indicates that the incremental risk due to the presence of bulky conductive and nonmagnetic orthopedic implants in the body of MRI workers is negligible. Hence, there is no reason to prevent them from entering the MRI room.