Motivation: To develop safe MRI procedures for patients with deep brain stimulation (DBS). Goal(s): To investigate the feasibility of an implant-friendly optimization as a safety pre-scan workflow. Approach: The RF induced currents on DBS electrodes were measured using an image based method. The two-channel RF excitation patterns were optimized to minimize heating and RF artifacts around bilateral DBS electrodes in three configurations. Results: The optimization reduced induced current and RF artifacts near the electrodes. The pre-scan procedure can be completed in less than 6 minutes of active scanning time. Impact: We demonstrated a fast, patient-specific optimization workflow to improve the safety of MRI scans for DBS patients. The workflow is efficient enough to be seamlessly integrated into routine imaging procedures before the main study scan.
Zulkarnain-Lemke et al. (2025) studied this question.