MRI-Induced Vibrations in Active Implantable Medical Devices: Effect on the Device

Ramez E. N. Shehada¹, Rohan More¹, Reza Imani¹, Wudi Zhou¹, Micah Meulmester¹, Benjamin Coppola¹, Jon Dietrich¹, Richard Williamson¹, Ali Dianaty¹

Gradient-induced vibrations can fatigue the components of MRI-conditional active-implantable medical devices (AIMD) leading to their failure. A non-contact vibrometer was used in a special fixture to measure the vibrations of various AIMD components in clinical 1.5T MRI scanners. The frequency range of the vibrations ranged from 0-2kHz with a maximum displacement of 25um. The vibration values were then programmed into a computerized shaker-table that was used to aggressively vibrate the AIMD for longer periods of time after which the AIMD was checked for damage. This study presents a new method for characterizing the vibrations and assessing their effects on AIMD.