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Cochlear implant with a non-removable magnet: preliminary research at 3-T MRI

  • Head and Neck
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Abstract

Objective

To perform preliminary tests in vitro and with healthy volunteers to determine the 3-T MRI compatibility of a cochlear implant with a non-removable magnet.

Methods

In the in vitro phase, we tested six implants for temperature changes and internal malfunctioning. We measured the demagnetisation of 65 internal magnets with different tilt angles between the implant’s magnetic field (bi) and the main magnetic field (b0). In the in vivo phase, we tested 28 operational implants attached to the scalps of volunteers with the head in three different positions.

Results

The study did not find significant temperature changes or electronic malfunction in the implants tested in vitro. We found considerable demagnetisation of the cochlear implant magnets in the in vitro and in vivo testing influenced by the position of the magnet in the main magnetic field. We found that if the bi/b0 angle is <90°, there is no demagnetisation; if the bi/b0 angle is >90°, there is demagnetisation in almost 60 % of the cases. When the angle is around 90°, the risk of demagnetisation is low (6.6 %).

Conclusion

The preliminary results on cochlear implants with non-removable magnets indicate the need to maintain the contraindication of passage through 3-T MRI.

Key Points

• Magnetic resonance imaging can affect cochlear implants and vice versa.

• Demagnetisation of cochlear implant correlates with the angle between bi and b0.

• The position of the head in the MRI influences the demagnetisation.

• Three-Tesla MRI for cochlear implants is still contraindicated.

• However some future solutions are discussed.

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Acknowledgment

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, CHU Lille, Huriez Hospital, 1 rue Polonovski, 59037, Lille cedex, France

    F. Dubrulle, A. Sufana Iancu & O. Ernst

  2. INSERM, unit U703, University Nord of France, Lille, France

    F. Dubrulle & O. Ernst

  3. Department of Research and Development, Neurelec, Vallauris, France

    G. Tourrel

  4. Department of Otology and Otoneurosurgery, CHU Lille, Lille, France

    C. Vincent

Authors
  1. F. Dubrulle
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  2. A. Sufana Iancu
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  3. C. Vincent
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  4. G. Tourrel
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  5. O. Ernst
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to F. Dubrulle.

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Dubrulle, F., Sufana Iancu, A., Vincent, C. et al. Cochlear implant with a non-removable magnet: preliminary research at 3-T MRI. Eur Radiol 23, 1510–1518 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-012-2760-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-012-2760-3

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