Cognitive, Cardiac, and Physiological Safety Studies in Ultra High Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging

A systematic analysis of the effect of an 8.0 tesla static magnetic field on physiological and/or cognitive function is presented in the normal volunteer and in the swine. A study of ten human subjects revealed no evidence of detectable changes in body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, systolic pressure, and diastolic blood pressure after 1 hour of exposure. In addition, no cognitive changes were detected. Important ECG changes were noted which were related both to the position of the subject in the magnet and to the absolute strength of the magnetic field. As such, the ECG tracing at 8 tesla was not diagnostically useful. Nonetheless, all subjects exhibited normal ECG readings both before and following exposure to the 8 tesla field. Cardiac function was also examined in detail in the swine. No significant changes in body temperature, heart rate, left ventricular pressure, left ventricular end diastollic pressure, time rate of change of left ventricular pressure, myocardial stiffness index, cardiac output, systolic volume, troponin, and potassium levels could be detected following 3 h of exposure to a field strength of 8.0 tesla. It is concluded that no short term cardiac or cognitive effects are observed following significant exposure to a magnetic field of up to 8.0 tesla.