Nano-coating To Make Implants MRI Safe

Makarand writes "Patients who have implants containing any kind of metal cannot be MRI scanned as the powerful electromagnetic radio waves can induce currents large enough to heat the metal in implants to over 70 C and damage surrounding tissue. Now, Biophan, a biomedical devices company, has developed a nano-coating material that can protect implants by preventing most of the radio waves from reaching the internal components of the implant by reflecting them. It's high electrical resistance also prevents currents from flowing around the implant's surface and heating any nearby body tissue. Biophan's coating is a mixture of poorly conducting nanoparticles held in an insulating matrix. The coating is a mere three micrometres thick and can cut the energy induced in an implant by 89 per cent."

Comments

Wow

[Gangis]

I had a cochlear implant put in 4 years ago and I kind of wish we had that technology for it then... It kind of sucks not being able to use some diagnostic tools. When I first got my implant, I was given a card that specifically excludes me from getting a MRI with a strength of one tesla or more and that if I needed one, I would have to have the magnetic portion taken out surgically.

pulled out

[SuperBanana]

Patients who have implants containing any kind of metal cannot be MRI scanned as the powerful electromagnetic radio waves can induce currents large enough to heat the metal in implants to over 70 C and damage surrounding tissue.

That's not the only problem- there's the whole magnetic force issue. Remember the last Bond movie, where he's in the MRI room? It's not an exaggeration- anything ferrous within a 20+ foot radius will, in fact, get picked up and pulled toward the center of the machine. That's why, unlike the Bond movies, nothing ferrous is ever supposed to be allowed into the same room.

A child at Westchester Medical Center was killed a year or two back when an oxygen cylinder against a wall was launched into the center of the MRI machine(it literally flew through the air into the center), crushing his skull.

Another "famous" incident involved a prison inmate who was not killed or injured, but the policeman guarding him lost his gun- I can't remember if it was holstered or in his hands, but it ended up hitting the MRI machine, AND discharging- not to mention I think it also partially damaged the dewar vessel surrounding the magnet. In both cases, the nurses and doctors hadn't managed to think through the most basic safety issue- NOTHING metal goes in an MRI room, PERIOD(Westchester never did publicly "figure out" how the oxygen cylinder, which never should have been in there in the first place, got there- much less why the nurses didn't remove it.)

Now, imagine if the metal object was inside your knee...forget "damaged tissue", you could end up with a face-knee transplant.

Other shielding possibilities?

[boredman]

Could this technology also be used to shield RF-sensitive circuits, or perhaps EMP-harden ICs?

-boredman