McCabe, S. O., & Scott, J. B. (2014). Cause and Amelioration of MRI-Induced Heating Through Medical Implant Lead Wires. Presented at the 21st Electronics New Zealand Conference (ENZCon), Hamilton, New Zealand, 20 - 21 Nov 2014, 2014.
Abstract
The RF fields present in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners can induce hazardous heating in patients wearing medical implants. The inherent design and locale of deep brain stimulators (DBS) and spinal cord stimulators (SCS) make them particularly susceptible. We apply antenna concepts and use electromagnetic (EM) simulation to explain the phenomenon and anticipate its sensitivity to lead wire length. We anticipate that a DC resistance of less than 50 Ω/m and an RF impedance of more than 1:23kΩ/m would be required for a safe electrode for SCS use. We investigate the possibility of manipulating wire conductivity and diameter in order to use the skin depth effect to achieve a safe electrode. The effect of the thickness and permittivity of insulation surrounding the wires is explored.
Rights
This is an author’s accepted version of a paper presented at 21st Electronics New Zealand Conference (ENZCon). © 2014 the authors.
