MRI Conditional Pacemakers: The Cooling Effect of Blood Flow in the Heart Chambers

Ramez E. N. Shehada¹, Rohan More¹, Sassan Rahbari¹, Richard Williamson¹, Ali Dianaty¹

MRI conditional pacemaker leads may increase in temperature primarily due to RF-induced heating; however, large segments of the leads reside in blood vessels and can benefit from the cooling effect of the surrounding blood flow. An in-vitro flow setup was developed to simulate in-vivo flow conditions around pacemaker leads and was used to determine the percent temperature reduction in the lead due to blood flow. Blood flow may reduce temperature-rises in the distal end of pacemaker leads by 83-87% and can be used to mitigate moderate heating of the distal segments of MRI conditional pacemaker leads.