Evaluation of MRI RF electromagnetic field induced heating near leads of cochlear implants

A typical cochlear implant system under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures may couple with the radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic field (EMF) and results in an intensified electric field at the lead tip. As a result, the RF energy deposited in human tissues around the lead tip may induce heating and cause tissue damage concerns. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the RF-EMF-induced heating for cochlear implant system in 1.5 T MRI coil and highlight the factors that have significant effects on the heating. The potential factors involved in the RF-EMF-induced heating including the lead type, lead trajectory, human model and MRI landmark. In this paper, the RF-EMF-induced heating for three types of leads is evaluated in two virtual human models. A total of 24 lead trajectories and 23 anatomical landmark positions are studied using the transfer function method. The average temperature rise for all the studied cases in the human models is 0.79 °C, and the maximum value is 2.80 °C for a maximum whole-body average specific absorption rate of 2 W kg^-1 in an RF body coil. It is found that the lead trajectory and MRI landmark are two primary influencing factors. The maximum temperature rises for different lead trajectories can vary from 0.82 to 2.80 °C. A difference in heating of 2.80 °C is observed when the landmark changes from  -100 to 700 mm. This work demonstrates that it is necessary to take these factors into account when evaluating the RF-EMF-induced heating for implanted medical devices.