Comment from Marena Cooley

I am an MRI Technologist with 17 years of MRI experience and currently serve in MRI safety-related responsibilities, including MR Safety Officer duties at a large academic medical center. In my daily practice, I am frequently required to evaluate MRI safety risks involving implanted devices, abandoned leads, retained metallic foreign bodies, external equipment, patient positioning, monitoring leads, and other complex situations where RF exposure may be a significant consideration. This is especially important when performing patient-specific risk assessments for off-label MRI examinations, including cases involving abandoned implants and leads, where available safety data may be limited. While MRI safety documentation provides substantial information regarding static magnetic field and spatial gradient field distributions, there is comparatively limited information available regarding RF field distribution within the scanner bore. Over the course of my career, I have encountered many situations where additional information regarding RF field distribution could have improved my understanding of patient-specific risks and supported more informed decision-making. Access to this information would not replace existing MRI safety practices, but it could provide front-line MRI professionals with another valuable tool when evaluating complex or non-standard circumstances, including assessing potential heating risks associated with abandoned leads and potential injury risks related to retained metallic foreign bodies. While the final decision to proceed with an examination appropriately rests with the supervising radiologist and treating physicians, MRI safety professionals are routinely relied upon to perform detailed risk assessments and provide recommendations that inform those decisions. Providing qualified MRI safety professionals with greater access to RF field distribution information would increase transparency, support evidence-based risk assessment, and further promote patient safety. For these reasons, I support this petition and the effort to make this information available to MRI professionals responsible for patient safety.