May 2010
Dylan Frigo, 11, his mother,
Lauren, and brother, Marcus, 13, who has a paediatric pacemaker compatible with
MRI scans.
Marcus sets the pace on MRI use for heart kids
The Medtronic EnRhythm MRI™
SureScan™ pacing system was implanted in Marcus Frigo, 13.
Marcus has Marfan syndrome, the
most serious complications of which are the defects of the heart valves and
aorta.
It may also affect the lungs,
eyes, the dural sac surrounding the spinal cord, skeleton and the hard palate.
Marcus also has a twisted leg
requiring ongoing MRI scans.
Southern Health Paediatric
Cardiac Surgeon Andrew Cochrane said studies had shown commonly-used Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners could interrupt or withhold pacing
therapy, which may be hazardous and possibly life-threatening and/or cause
damage to the device.
‘Regulatory agencies worldwide,
including the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists,
recommend against MRI scans for individuals with implantable cardiac devices.
This means patients are
regularly denied access to an MRI scan to determine the cause of a clinical
issue and must use less effective diagnostic methods because they have a
pacemaker,’ Dr Cochrane said.
‘This new technology includes
modified hardware to minimise the level of energy transmitted through the
lead/device connection point.’
The pacemaker also includes a
new feature that can be programmed ‘on’ before an MRI scan to eliminate the
impact of MRI-generated electrical noise, which can prevent necessary pacing
therapy or cause the device to oversense and deliver unnecessary pacing
therapy.
When the feature is on, the
device’s data collection and monitoring functions are temporarily suspended,
while allowing the device to continue providing asynchronous pacing if needed.
The device and leads also
contain radiopaque marks, viewable via X-ray, to indicate that the system is
MRI-compatible.
New data shows patients implanted with the new technology experienced no complications related to the use of MRI.
