TWO years ago, a patient in a British hospital died of heart failure shortly after being given an MRI brain scan. Despite being asked several times, he had failed to tell doctors that a heart pacemaker was implanted in his chest. The scanner's powerful radio waves are thought to have induced inappropriate voltages in the implant - boosting the patient's pulse so much his heart failed.
MRI images are invaluable. Their ability to show up different densities of soft tissue is particularly useful in cancer diagnosis. But the risk of such accidents means they cannot be used on patients who have implants that contain any kind of metal. This is becoming a serious problem as more people are fitted with implants to control various conditions.
But now a US company has come up with a new coating for implants that should protect such patients from dangerous MRI scanner fields. And ...
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