MRI update, December 2008
The Institute of Physics (IOP) has launched a new report, MRI and the Physical Agents (EMF) Directive, by Dr Stephen Keevil.
Scientific researchers, clinicians, the UK Government and other bodies across Europe welcomed the European Commission’s delay of its Physical Agents (EMF) Directive at the of last year in recognition that there was no evidence of harm from MRI. The scientific basis for the Directive was acknowledged to be poor and overstretched and it also confused chronic with acute effects. Yet despite the ongoing efforts of scientists to insist that hypothetical risks are weighed against the real clinical benefits of MRI, and the growing research literature on its use, the EC has continued to debate the introduction of the Directive in a new form. Many of the concerns that we raised in 2005 about the absence of evidence and how this could affect patient care and undermine clinical research are not yet addressed. The Institute of Physics’s report, published today, on MRI and the Physical Agents (EMF) Directive, is a welcome and much-needed update. Dr Stephen Keevil, who first raised the problem of the Directive, has examined the advantages and disadvantages of possible solutions. We hope that the Commission is now inclined to do the same.
Dr Stephen Keevil, author of the IOP’s report from King’s College, London, writes, “It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that a range of current and emerging MRI procedures would be rendered illegal by the directive. Some of these techniques simply cannot be performed in other ways, and in other cases the only possible option would expose both the patient and workers to ionising radiation.”
Coverage
The Times “The EU Threat to the MRI Scan by Mark Henderson”
Last updated: May 21 2010
