Effects of magnetic stray fields from a 7 Tesla MRI scanner on neurocognition: a double-blind randomised crossover study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE This study characterises neurocognitive domains that are affected by movement-induced time-varying magnetic fields (TVMF) within a static magnetic stray field (SMF) of a 7 Tesla (T) MRI scanner. METHODS Using a double-blind randomised crossover design, 31 healthy volunteers were tested in a sham (0 T), low (0.5 T) and high (1.0 T) SMF exposure condition. Standardised head movements were made before every neurocognitive task to induce TVMF. RESULTS Of the six tested neurocognitive domains, we demonstrated that attention and concentration were negatively affected when exposed to TVMF within an SMF (varying from 5.0% to 21.1% per Tesla exposure, p