Padding introduction

Preventing patient warming is one of the most important safety measures you must take into consideration as you prepare a patient for an MR exam. Appropriate RF padding and proper patient positioning are the most effective means of preventing injury related to RF heating. The following are a few “golden rules” to remember as you position and pad your patients:

• Only use GE approved RF padding.
• Approved padding must be a minimum of 0.25 inches (0.635 cm) thick.
• Appropriate padding must be used EVERY time without exception.
• Sheets and gowns are not a substitute for approved RF padding.
• Never allow your patient’s skin to come in direct contact with the scanner bore or any surface coil or cable.
• If a patient does not fit in the MR scanner bore with the required padding, another modality should be used to image the patient.

While some of these rules may seen a little tough to follow at times, remember that RF injury, which can in extreme cases include burns such as the one you see below, can happen very quickly and your patient may not have time to warn you in time to prevent an injury.

The following are a series of short vignettes that will assist you in properly positioning and applying RF padding to your patients. Should you need more information on prevention of patient warming than what is provided here, refer to your surface coil and MR Safety Manuals. If you need help beyond the documentation please do not hesitate to reach out to your local Applications Specialists.