Assessing the MR compatibility of dental retainer wires at 7 tesla

Master thesis (2012)

Authors

Contributors

B.J. Kooij (mentor)
R.F. Remis (mentor)
Programme
Microwave Technology and Systems for Radar (EEMCS) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2012 Wezel, J.
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Published Date

16-10-2012

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Programme

Microwave Technology and Systems for Radar

Abstract

The radio frequent (RF) safety of dental retainer wires during Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 7 tesla has been investigated using electromagnetic simulations and thermal measurements on a phantom model. In the Netherlands up to 40% of the younger adults have such a dental retainer wire, which at the moment is listed as a contraindication for 7 T head scans. The conclusion of this study for the safety of retainer wires is the following. Short wires up to 32 mm can be considered RF safe for a clinical 7 tesla MR head scan. Longer wires are not always RF safe. A solution to heating due to longer wires is to fully cover the wire with a non conductive spacer such as a silicone sports mouth guard to ensure RF safety. As a consequence of these findings, people with a retainer wire have the possibility of going into a 7 tesla MR scanner.