VIENNA, AUSTRIA--Patients implanted with a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (S-ICD System, Cameron Health and Boston Scientific) can safely undergo MRI, according to a study of the first cohort of patients to be evaluated.
"The location and design of the system" make MRI safe, said lead investigator Jiří Keller, MD, from Na Homolce Hospital in Prague.
Since 2009, more than 450 patients around the world have been implanted with the S-ICD, and 52 of them were treated at Dr. Keller's hospital. The subcutaneous system does not require electrodes in or on the heart. "The principle of this defibrillator is that it's positioned under the skin and nothing is touching the heart; from this perspective, it's safer," he explained.
The study, presented here at the European Congress of Radiology 2014, involved 12 men and 3 women with a mean body mass index of 26 kg/m².
SOURCE: Medscape