In september 2012, the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) held is hitherto most attended workshop with more than 200 participants from all over the world. The ISMRM workshops are scientific meetings with a specific focus and they often have an educational component. The current workshop focusing on MRI safety aspects was held at the Lund University Hospital in Sweden, which also contributed very significantly to the organization of this successful meeting.

A session was devoted to the EU directive on work in electromagnetic fields. Though this directive was meant to protect people working with electromagnetic fields from adverse health effects, it also prevents patients from receiving proper healthcare. Simultaneously, it increases the cost with no significant benefit for staff working with MRI, whom the directive was aimed at protecting. Extensive and adequate safety measures are already enforced via the IEC Standard for MRI equipment (IEC 60601-2-33).

The directive in the current, adopted form has therefore been met with resistance from the MR societies having as members all kinds of MRI workers, that the directive was aimed at protecting, e.g. the Danish Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Also patient organizations and others are actively working on reducing detrimental effects. Consequently the directive is in the process of being revised. Though a badly needed partial exemption for MRI seems within reach, it is still very uncertain how the member states will interpret the exemption and the conditions needing to be fulfilled for it to come into effect.

Lars G. Hanson from the DRCMR and DTU Elektro contributed with an invited presentation on the clinical consequences of the directive. The corresponding syllabus contribution gives additional background and details. Other workshop presentations focused on, e.g., other consequences of the directive, the biological effects that it is aimed at reducing, and on the current status.

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