Testing of adult and paediatric ventilators for use in a magnetic resonance imaging unit

We have assessed the performance of a series of ventilators (modified versi ons of the ventiPAC, paraPAC and babyPAC ventilators; SIMS pneuPAC Ltd, Lut on, UK) in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning environment, with MR safety and compatibility issues being addressed. Following initial modific ations to remove ferromagnetic components and replace them with MR-safe mat erials, all three ventilators performed well in a series of tests in static magnetic fields up to 2 T. Ventilator performance was unaffected by static fields, switching gradients or radio frequency fields within the MR suite. Furthermore, the devices produced no degradation of image quality when use d during MR scanning. We discuss management strategies for the care of crit ically ill ventilated patients during MR procedures.