title: Investigation of acoustic noise on 15 MRI scanners from 0.2 T to 3 T.
abstract: Acoustic noise levels for fast MRI pulse sequences were surveyed on 14 systems with field strengths ranging from 0.2 T to 3 T. A microphone insensitive to the magnetic environment was placed close to the magnet isocenter and connected via an extension cable to a sound level meter outside the scan room. Measured noise levels varied from 82.5 +/- 0.1 dB(A) for a 0.23 T system to 118.4 +/- 1.3 dB(A) for a 3 T system. Further measurements on four of the closed-bore systems surveyed showed that: 1) pulse sequence parameters (particularly FOV and TR) were more influential in determining noise level than field strength, 2) the noise level was found to vary along the z-direction with a maximum near the bore entrance, and 3) in one of two systems tested there was a significant increase in noise with a volunteer present instead of a test object. The results underline the importance of hearing protection for patients and for staff spending extended periods in the scan room.
authors.affiliation: MagNET, Department of Electrical Engineering, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, London.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: De Wilde
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Papadaki
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Curran
authors.forename: R I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Kitney
mesh_terms: D004430:Ear Protective Devices; D004869:Equipment Safety; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013018:Sound Spectrography