Cardiac rhythm management devices in a magnetic resonance environment

MRI is the gold standard diagnostic tool for soft tissue imaging for many specialties. An impressive body of research has proven the effectiveness of cardiac rhythm management devices (CRMDs) objectively, in terms of parameters that include patient's quality of life, morbidity, and mortality. However, interaction between CRMDs and MRI scanners is a problem. Static main magnetic field, radiofrequency energy and the gradient magnetic field are three distinct mechanisms related to MRI and cause risks to CRMDs. Very often, patients with CRMDs have been excluded from undergoing MRI scans despite the fact that these scans were critical for the diagnosis and therapy of patients with serious medical conditions. In order for all patients with CRMDs to have the ability to perform this exam, the industry works hard to design devices that are MRI conditional.