Magnetic Resonance Compatibility of a Transponder Aimed for Radiotherapy Positioning - A Phantom Study

Background/aim: Electromagnetic Positioning Systems (EMP) is a new position-ing technique in four-dimensional radiotherapy. Patients with implanted transponders may be referred for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) making it important to establish the MR safety.

Materials and methods: Oranges were prepared with transponders and imaged on a 3T MR scanner with different sequences. Computed tomography (CT) was performed as comparison. MR artifacts were assessed. An estimation of the maximum transponder de-flection force and heating was made.

Results: The mean measured displacement of transponders was 0.1 mm (range=0.03-0.3 mm). Artifacts were observed adjacent to transponders using all sequences. The deflection force on the transponder in the gantry was less than 38 mN. No heating was observed.

Conclusion: The absence of any substantial movement, the weak measured deflection force and absence of observed heating speaks for the safe use of MR imaging with transponder 3T. Local artefacts makes evaluation impossible adjacent to transponders.