Active Implantable Medical Device – Can its Radio Frequency Radiation be a Potential Source of MR Image Artifact?

To assess if an active implantable medical device (AIMD) may unintentionally generate radio frequency signals near the receiver band of an MRI RF coil and cause image artifact, a method is proposed in this study to quantify the maximum AIMD radiated signal strength near the MR Lamor frequencies at 1.5T and 3T. Three commercially available AIMDs were investigated and the maximum radiated signal level was found to be around -120 dBm at the 64 and 128 MHz range. Such information can be utilized in conjunction with MR RF receiver specifications to determine the potential impact on image artifacts