Heating effects of metallic implants by MRI examinations

Magnetic radiofrequency fields applied in magnetic resonance imaging examinations induce electrical currents in metallic implants. These eddy currents may heat up the implants and thus may be capable of causing localized tissue heating. The rf power deposition and the joule heating of the implant can be calculated by solving Maxwell's equations for the specific problem. First, extreme in vitro worst-case experiments were performed with a large and very thin aluminum sheet, which was placed in a 1.5-T MRI device in a position parallel to the magnetic rf field. In agreement with the theoretical results the temperature rise of a thermally insulated sheet amounted to only 0.08 degrees C after a 15-min MRI examination at 64 MHz. No temperature rise in the aluminum sheet could be measured for a sheet immersed in a saline solution. Second, in vitro experiments with a hip joint prosthesis and an osteosynthetic plate were performed to confirm the theoretical results, which predict nearly no temperature rise in the metallic implants. No temperature rise in the implants could be measured.