Information for patients
If you are a patient reading this and have a concern about an MRI scan you are scheduled to attend, we strongly recommend you contact the site where your scan is due to take place, you may also wish to refer to our ‘Information for Patients’ section. Please note local variations to the policies detailed on this website may apply, therefore please contact the hospital where your appointment is scheduled for clarification.Disclaimer (MUST READ)
The MRI safety information contained within this webpage is intended for use by staff from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) and associated health boards, namely: NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Borders, NHS Dumfries & Galloway, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Golden Jubilee, and NHS Lanarkshire. Only staff from these health boards are approved to use this information and local variations to the policies detailed may apply. Non-approved users i.e. patients and staff from health boards other than those listed above, or staff from private medical organisations use this information at their own risk. We, NHS GGC, accept no responsibility for patient injury or adverse outcomes that may occur as a consequence of the information contained herein. If you have any questions regarding this disclaimer, please contact the NHS GGC MRI physics team on: ggc.MRSafetyExpert@nhs.scot.NHS GGC MRI safety policy for patients with non coronary vascular stents
A short video introduction to the policy can be found here
A powerpoint overview on the policy here
Must read: What this policy does not cover / notable exceptions
This policy does not consider patients with coronary stents. For information on these implants, please follow this link.
Note also that GGC has a local policy for patients implanted with biliary stents. Please follow this link for that policy.
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Must read: What the policy covers
This policy considers the use of 1.5T and 3T MRI for patients with non coronary vascular stents.
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Must read: The MR safety policy
No known contraindication to MRI at 1.5 or 3T provided that the following applies:
The non coronary vascular stent is implanted correctly and functioning as intended.
The stent has been in place at least 6 weeks post-surgery.
The MRI protocol is applied in the normal mode of operation with a short time delay of around 20 seconds between successive pulse sequences.
Risk assessment: Non coronary vascular stents
Full details of the policy on non coronary vascular stents
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Detailed review: A detailed review underpinning this policy can be found here:
Detailed review underpinning the policy can be found here
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Acknowledgement
This policy was created by members of the MRI subgroup of the Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering (MPCE) network for NHS Scotland in collaboration with the Scottish MR radiographer leads group.