Progress shows in MR-compatible leads

Two tests of technologies being developed for use in MR-compatible cardiac pacemakers have yielded positive results. Studies conducted at MR imaging centers in western New York showed a reduction in thermal heating during MR operations on a metal wire similar to a pacing lead protected by technology engineered by Biophan Technologies of Rochester. The control sample heated over 22 degrees C in less than one minute, whereas the Biophan technology rose only about 1 degrees C in that time. A second test showed a reduction of 89% in the electrical energy induced in a metal object by the MR radio-frequency field after Biophan MRI safety technology was added to the sample.