Committee Overview (MRSC)

The University of California, San Francisco Medical Center (UCSF) will maintain MR Safety Polices and Procedures, which are to be established, maintained, and routinely reviewed by the University's MRI Safety Committee (MRSC).

The policies and procedures shall be reviewed and updated regularly. Introduction of any significant changes in MRI system hardware or software that will significantly change the safety parameters in the MR imaging environment (e.g. adding faster/stronger gradient capabilities, higher RF duty cycle sequences) will be reviewed by the MRSC prior to implementation. In this review process, national and international standards and recommendations should be taken into consideration prior to establishing our own local guidelines, policies, and procedures.

It is the responsibility of the MRI Safety Committee to ensure that the MRI safety guidelines are established and maintained on a current basis, and is appropriate for the various clinical and research MR systems operated by the University. It is the responsibility of the UCSF administration to ensure that the policies and procedures that are established by the MRI Safety Committee are implemented and adhered to at all time by all UCSF personnel.   

Procedures should be in place to ensure that all adverse MRI safety events are reported to the Chair of the MRI Safety Committee in written form (incident report) within a 24-hour period. All incidents and adverse effects will be discussed at the monthly meeting of the MRI Safety Committee. A serious adverse event will result in an immediate session of the MRI Safety Committee.

The MRI Safety Committee is responsible for the development of a MRI Safety training program for the hospital staff personnel.