MAGNETIC OBJECT DETECTOR FOR PRE-MRI PATIENT SCREENING

THIS RESEARCH AIMS TO ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF A CLINICAL DEVICE FOR DETECTING POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS MAGNETICOBJECTS INSIDE THE BODY OF A PATIENT WHO IS ABOUT TO UNDERGOMAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI). SIMILAR IN USAGE TO THE WALK-THROUGH DEVICES USED FOR LIBRARY BOOK SECURITY, THE DETECTOR WILL SET UP A MAGNETIC FIELD IN A DOORWAY. AS THE PATIENT WALKS THROUGH, A RECEIVING ANTENNA WILL MONITOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC RESPONSE OF ANY OBJECTS. PRELIMINARY TO THE RESEARCH, THE TECHNICAL LITERATURE WILL BE THOROUGHLY SEARCHED FOR MATERIAL RELATED TO THIS TYPE OF DETECTION. THE MAJOR RESEARCH EFFORT WILL BE TO ESTIMATE THE SENSITIVITY OF VARIOUS DETECTING METHODS TO SMALL OBJECTS SUCH AS VASCULAR CLIPS. USING COMPUTER SIMULATIONS OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS, THE MOST PROMISING TECHNIQUE WILL BE THEORETICALLY IDENTIFIED. A PROTOTYPE WILL BE DESIGNED AND ITS PERFORMANCE ESTIMATED. AN EXPERIMENTAL TEST OF ITS EFFECTIVENESS WILL BE FORMULATED.