New Pacemaker Design Allows Patients to Undergo MRI Procedures

On Wednesday Feb. 16, the SureScanTM Pacing System, the first pacemaker capable of safely withstanding the effects an MRI, was implanted into an 80 year-old man at St. Mary Hospital in Langhorne PA. Patients with traditional pacemakers are instructed to avoid getting an MRI. Doing so can cause serious complications and damage to themselves and the pacemaker. Among these damaging effects are: heating of the leads, and circuitry malfunction which can cause the pacemaker to no longer keep a proper rhythm. The SureScanTM Pacing System’s design includes new circuitry which is unaffected by the powerful magnetic field, leads that will not overheat during the imaging process and also a dramatic decrease in the total amount of magnetic material.

What is so fantastic about this new device is what it unlocks for the patients and their doctors. Most people who get pacemakers implanted are 65 and older and are commonly diagnosed with more health problems than just an arrhythmia. Being able to use medical imaging techniques like MRIs to catch and diagnosis those other health problems is a huge improvement in medicine. New devices likes the SureScanTM are making significant impact and opening up so many doors for doctors and patients.


http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/262/2011/february/17/st-mary-among-first-to-implant-new-mri-safe-pacemaker.html
Picture from http://www.stmaryhealthcare.org