A Review on Current Issues of Radio Frequency Identification Devices in Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is one of the most widely diagnostic tools used for finding disorders in the human body. Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) is a wireless technology that can be used in hospitals for identifying patients in order to reduce the occurrence of manual medical errors. Patients with RFID tags, that contain metallic components, may undergo MRI examination for a diagnostic purpose. MRI poses risk to these patients, especially, who is carrying metallic implants or magnetically-activated devices with them, since they are emitting high amount of electromagnetic radiations. MRI techniques are not only harmful to the patients carrying these devices, but also to their operation or function. It is essential to carry out certain investigations to ascertain whether these devices, may be carried by patients, are safe for them, or not, in the MRI environment. In addition to this, it needs to be verified whether the generated artifacts in the MRI images affect proper diagnosis by doctors, or not. Accordingly, this paper overviews the certain investigations performed in assessing MRI imaging risks coupled with different types of RFID tags.