The Russian regulatory documents on the organization and functioning of offices and departments of magnetic resonance imaging

Diagnostic studies that are conducted using any medical equipment require comprehensive control, which is provided by several regulatory documents. Particular attention is paid to X-ray imaging methods, but in the field of magnetic resonance imaging, one can notice both the lack of attention and the multidirectional efforts for its normalization.

Understandably, this diagnostic method is not based on the use of ionizing radiation, and magnetic fields have some effect on human health, especially on personnel who work in magnetic resonance imaging rooms at all times. They are safe for patients who come to the diagnostic procedure from time to time and those without foreign metal (steel implants) or electronic (pacemakers and neurostimulators) objects in their bodies.

However, ignorance and non-compliance with both advisory and mandatory requirements can significantly increase the risk of harm to patients or staff, as well as lead to a decreased quality of imaging and diagnostics. A separate feature of the field of magnetic resonance imaging regulation in the past decades includes more than a dozen of different standards, sanitary norms, rules, letters, and recommendations that have been published or revised, of which a significant part complement or duplicate each other, or completely contradict each other. Therefore, the need to ensure the compliance of the magnetic resonance imaging room/department with the requirements of regulatory documents is greatly complicated.

This study provides an overview of the regulatory documentation in force in Russia related to the organization and functioning of a magnetic resonance imaging room/department, highlights the aspects that are most important from the point of view of the safe and high-quality operation, and formulates the steps necessary to modernize the system, both from the point of view of the quality of diagnostics and the safety of magnetic resonance imaging studies.