MRI Safety Checker, Body Jewelry

Can you have an MRI scan with body jewelry in?

It depends entirely on the material. Body jewelry classified as MR Safe, such as BioFlex® medical-grade polymer or PTFE, can be left in place during an MRI scan with no known hazards.

MR Conditional materials like implant-grade titanium (ASTM F136) are generally accepted by radiographers, subject to field strength limits (typically ≤ 3T). MR Unsafe materials, ferromagnetic steel, magnetic clasps, silver, or unknown-grade "surgical steel", must be removed before entering the MRI suite.

The risk is not just artifact: ferromagnetic materials can experience significant force displacement in a high-field magnet, and conducting loops can cause RF heating and burns.

What is the safest body jewelry for MRI scans?

BioFlex® medical-grade polymer is the gold standard for MRI-safe body jewelry. Manufactured by Poli International, BioFlex® is a polypropylene random copolymer (PP-R) with ISO 10993-6 biocompatibility certification, built on a USP Class VI biocompatible resin.

It is non-ferromagnetic, non-conductive, generates no RF heating, and produces no susceptibility artifact in MRI images.

When a patient needs a retainer during a scan, BioFlex® is the only material a radiographer can clear without qualification. PTFE (Teflon) and nylon retainers are also MR Safe, though they lack the biocompatibility certification of BioFlex®.

Why does the ASTM F2503 standard matter for body jewelry?

ASTM F2503 is the Standard Practice for Marking Medical Devices and Other Items for Safety in the Magnetic Resonance Environment. It defines three classifications: MR Safe (no known hazards in any MR environment), MR Conditional (no known hazards under specified conditions of field strength, SAR, and scan duration), and MR Unsafe (known hazards, do not use in MR environment).

These classifications were developed for implanted medical devices, but the same physics applies to body jewelry.

Radiographers rely on ASTM F2503 terminology when making admit/remove decisions at the scanner door. Jewelry manufacturers that understand and can reference this standard provide the clinical evidence chain needed in a healthcare setting.

If my body jewelry is titanium, can I keep it in during an MRI, or should I remove everything regardless?

Titanium is non-ferromagnetic, so it will not be pulled or twisted by the magnet, and in that narrow sense it is generally safe. Even so, my default advice is to remove it if you can, for three reasons: it can create an image artifact that obscures the very area being scanned, any conductive loop can heat up under the radiofrequency field, and many radiology departments simply run a remove-everything policy you will not argue your way around.

If the piercing is fresh and cannot come out, do not stay silent, tell the radiographer the exact grade and gauge, because field strength matters: a 3T scanner behaves very differently from a 1.5T. A BioFlex® retainer sidesteps the whole question, which is why a radiographer can clear it without a second thought.