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Abstract #3891

Impact of Imaging Landmark on RF-Induced Heating of Cardiac Pacemakers and Other Medical Devices in MRI

Peter Nordbeck1,2, Oliver Ritter1, Ingo Weiss3, Daniel Gensler2, Marcus Warmuth2, Volker Herold2, Peter M. Jakob2, Mark E. Ladd4, Harald H. Quick5, Wolfgang R. Bauer1

1Internal Medicine I, University of Wrzburg, Wrzburg, Germany; 2Experimental Physics V, University of Wrzburg, Wrzburg, Germany; 3Biotronik GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin, Germany; 4Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; 5Medical Physics, University Erlangen-Nrnberg, Erlangen, Germany


The purpose of this study was to further assess the impact of the imaging landmark on the risk for unintended MRI-induced implant heating by measuring the RF-induced electric fields in a body phantom under several imaging conditions at 1.5 T in 3 different scanners. The results show that global RF coupling is highest with the torso centered along the superior-inferior direction of the transmit coil. The induced E-fields inside the body shift when changing body positioning. Potential hazards can be reduced by adequate selection of MR imaging landmark in patients with implanted medical devices.