Welcome to the IPEM Generic implant safety procedures (GISPs) Task and Finish Group home page.
UK guidelines for MRI safety recommend that MRI departments refer to the implant manufacturer for advice regarding the MRI safety of scanning patients with an implantable medical device prior to scanning. This process of assuring safety can be time consuming, leading to delays and potential cancellations of a patient’s MRI. The purpose of GISPs is to define a process for managing patients with certain types of implants where the risk from scanning is low. This process incorporates scope for an evidence-based risk-benefit decision to scan some groups of patients under locally-approved conditions, without seeking to identify the exact make and model of the implant and subsequent assurance of MRI safety from the implant manufacturer.
The intention of the task and finish group is to standardise the approach to scanning common implants using MRI. This will be achieved through experts in MR safety collaborating to create a set of nationally agreed standardised GISPs.
Some links to publications can be found below. This page will be updated when new resources become available.