Thresholds for perceiving metallic taste at high magnetic field

✍ Scribed by Ian D. Cavin; Paul M. Glover; Richard W. Bowtell; Penny A. Gowland

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 272 KB
• Volume: 26
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1053-1807
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.21153

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Purpose

To perform an initial characterization of the metallic taste effect observed by some workers when moving around an MRI scanner.

Materials and Methods

A total of 21 subjects performed controlled movements in the stray field of a 7‐T scanner. Rates of change of magnetic flux were recorded during the study using a custom‐built three‐axis coil unit connected to a data logger.

Results

Relatively normal movements could generate switched fields of 2 T/second. Of the 21 subjects, 12 detected a metallic taste, but the threshold at which it was perceived varied greatly between subjects, with the minimum dB/dt value at which such a taste was detected being 1.3 T/second. The threshold also depended on the direction of movement.

Conclusion

This study indicates that 50% of subjects will perceive a metallic taste for head shaking with a period of 1.5 seconds (magnetic field in an anterior/posterior direction) causing a dB/dt of 2.3 ± 0.3 T/second. The presence of dental fillings is not a requirement for the sensation of metallic taste. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2007;26:1357–1361. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.