MRI Scans Made Safe for People With Defibrillators and Pacemakers

by David Blumenthal, Vice President | September 26, 2006

Device monitoring showed that lead sensing did not fluctuate or change during the scan. Battery measurements showed that scans did not deplete or strengthen the battery's charge. Indeed, pacemakers and defibrillators performed successfully after the scans without any premature firing or false alarms.

Pacemakers and defibrillators are implantable devices used to treat people with an abnormal heartbeat, a condition known as arrhythmia. More than 2.2 million Americans are living with arrhythmia. It can occur in a healthy heart and be of minimal consequence, or it can lead to more serious heart disease, stroke or sudden cardiac death.

Your Trusted Source for Sony Medical Displays, Printers & More!

Ampronix, a Top Master Distributor for Sony Medical, provides Sales, Service & Exchanges for Sony Surgical Displays, Printers, & More. Rely on Us for Expert Support Tailored to Your Needs. Email info@ampronix.com or Call 949-273-8000 for Premier Pricing.

Funding for this study was provided by the National Institutes of Health, and the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. Halperin is a paid consultant to defibrillator manufacturer Medtronic, and co-investigators Ronald Berger, M.D., Ph.D., and Albert Lardo, Ph.D., are paid consultants to Guidant Corp., another device manufacturer. Co-author David Bluemke, M.D., Ph.D., has also received honoraria from General Electric Health Care for presentations. None of these companies provided funding for the study, and the terms of the physicians' arrangements are managed by The Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.

Other investigators in this research, conducted solely at Johns Hopkins, were Ariel Roguin, M.D., Ph.D.; Menekhem Zviman, Ph.D.; Timm Dickfeld, M.D., Ph.D.; Robert G. Weiss, M.D.; and Hugh Calkins, M.D.

A complete listing of heart devices made safe for MRI scanning is provided below.

- JHM -

LIST OF TESTED IMPLANTED CARDIAC DEVICES

Pacemakers with Satisfactory MRI Testing

Manufacturer: St Jude
1. Pacesetter AFP (262)
2. Trilogy (2360)
3. Entity (5326)
4. Affinity (5130, 5330)
5. Integrity (5142, 5342, 5346)
6. Identity (5172, 5370, 5376, 5380, 5386)

Manufacturer: Guidant
7. Vigor (1232)
8. Discovery (1272)
9. Insignia (1194, 1290)

Manufacturer: Medtronic
10. EnPulse (AT-500, E2SRO1, E2DRO1)
11. Kappa (701, 901)
12. Prodigy (7860)
13. In Sync BiV (8040, 8042)

Defibrillators with Satisfactory MRI Testing

Manufacturer: St Jude
14. Photon (V-194, V-230, V-232)
15. Atlas (V-240)
16. Epic (V-197, V-235, V-239)

Manufacturer: Guidant
17. Prizm (1850, 1851, 1852, 1860, 1861)
18. Contak (1823, H119, H170, H175)
19. Vitality (T125, T135)

Manufacturer: Medtronic
20. Maximo (7232)
21. Gem-II (7273)
22. Gem-III (7275)
23. Marquis (7274)
24. InSync (7272)

Full Caption: Hopkins cardiologist and electro-physiologist Henry Halperin, M.D., professor of medicine, radiology and biomedical engineering, holds a modern pacemaker and defibrillator that were tested as safe to use during a scan.

Back to HCB News