This analysis compares RF heating of VNS devices in low-field and high-field MRI, suggesting safety risks. New findings imply low-field MRI may not be inherently safer for patients with implants.
Motivation: The growing accessibility of low-field MRI systems and the lack of scanning guidelines for VNS devices in these systems highlight a need to assess RF heating risks. Goal(s): To compare the predicted RF-induced heating of a VNS device at 0.55 T and 1.5 T MRI, providing insights for safe scanning practices. Approach: We measured the transfer function of a commercial VNS device and used it to simulate in vivo heating at 0.55 T and 1.5 T, varying landmark and B1+ values. Results: Predictions suggest that RF heating at 0.55 T can be comparable to that at 1.5 T. Impact: This study challenges the common belief that low-field MRI is inherently safer for patients with implants, demonstrating that RF heating at 0.55 T can be similar to or exceed that at 1.5 T, underscoring the need for careful patient assessment.
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Sanpitak et al. (2025) studied this question.
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