Use of Magnetic Materials to Mitigate RF-induced Heating in Active Implantable Medical Devices with 1.5T MRI

The effect of ferrite magnetic beads to suppress the induced currents on a straight wire active implantable medical devices (AIMDs) lead was investigated. Leads with one, two and no ferrite beads were studied experimentally and using numerical simulations. The application of ferrite beads on the leads significantly reduced induced currents, and thus heating on experiments outside the MRI scanner. In the MRI magnet no significant reduction in heating was observed due to magnetic saturation of the ferrite beads. Suitable magnetic material for current suppression needs to be developed for application in MRI scanners.