Peter Nordbeck1, Oliver Ritter1, Michael Friedrich2, Michelle Maxfield2, Marcus Warmuth3, Philipp Ehses3, Ingo Weiss2, Karl-Heinz Hiller4, Peter M. Jakob3, Mark E. Ladd5, Harald H. Quick5, Wolfgang R. Bauer1
1Medizinische Klinik I, Universitt
Wrzburg, Wrzburg, Germany; 2Biotronik GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin,
Germany; 3Experimentelle Physik V, Universitt Wrzburg, Wrzburg,
Germany; 4Forschungszentrum MRB, Wrzburg, Germany; 5Diagnostische
und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitt Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
Radio frequency-related heating of cardiac pacemaker leads in MRI is a serious concern preventing pacemaker patients to undergo routine MRI. Extensive in vitro investigations focused on this issue over the last years, but until then, in vivo investigations on the topic are very rare. In this study, a reliable method for in vivo temperature measurements at a pacemaker lead tip was developed, utilizing a fluoroptic temperature measurement system to avoid interferences of the measurement system with the MR scanners electromagnetic fields. Initial experiments show that this measurement technique allows for reproducible, precise temperature measurements at the lead tip in vivo.