Potential Hazards In Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Imaging: Heating Effects Of Changing Magnetic Fields And rf Fields On Small Metallic Implants

To test if changing magnetic fields and RF fields used in NMR imagers could induce electrical currents in surgical clips and prostheses capable of causing localized tissue heating, we exposed steel surgical clips, copper wire clips, and hip prostheses to fields greater than those used in our NMR imager. Results indicate that no significant heating should be expected to occur from implanted surgical clips during exposure to our NMR imager. The heating of larger metallic implants should be further investigated.