Patent ID: 8901928

Claim:
An apparatus configured for safely carrying out medical procedures including at least one magnetic resonance imaging procedure on a patient comprising: an MR imaging room; a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus including a movable magnet that is arranged to be located in the magnetic resonance imaging room and configured for generating a magnetic field of sufficient intensity in order to carry out a magnetic resonance imaging procedure on the patient while the patient is in the MR imaging room; a plurality of additional components configured for use in carrying out at least one additional procedure on the patient; wherein the magnetic field of the magnet extends to an area within the room outside of the magnet with a sufficient intensity that causes movement of ferro-magnetic material within the area, outside of the magnet into which the magnetic field of the magnet extends; the magnet and/or the plurality of additional components being mounted and configured for relative movement with respect to one another whereby the magnetic resonance imaging procedure is carried out with the plurality of additional components in a remote location from the magnet and the at least one additional procedure is carried out with the magnet in a remote location from the plurality of additional components; a control system configured for controlling the relative movement of the magnet and the plurality of additional components; a plurality of magnetic field sensors each mounted on a respective one of the plurality of additional components, and configured for measuring the magnetic field of the magnet at the location of the respective one of the components onto which a respective one of the magnetic field sensors is mounted; the magnetic field sensors each being arranged in order to provide a communication of signals with the control system; the control system being arranged to change operation of the relative movement of the movable magnet and/or the plurality of additional components in response to the receipt of a communicated signal from one or more of the magnetic field sensors which are mounted onto the plurality of additional components; whereby the control system uses the sensed magnetic field strength from the plurality of magnetic field sensors, which are mounted onto the plurality of additional components in order to avoid collisions during movements of the movable magnet, or movement of the plurality of additional components within the imaging room.