Programs for Calculation of Electromagnetic Fields in MRI
Software tools calculate the risk of heating, electric currents, and magnetic field interactions between MRI machines and medical implants simultaneously, enabling increased patient safety and improved device design.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used as a noninvasive medical procedure to assist physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. MRI scanners generate strong magnetic fields, which may pose risks or problems to patients with certain implants or medical devices, such as cochlear implants and many permanent pacemakers.
Researchers at Purdue University have developed several programs for the analysis of the interactions between medical implants and the electromagnetic fields generated by MRI machines and others. Written in MATLAB, these programs are capable of calculating the heating of wires by an external magnetic field, calculation of electric currents induced by gradients in the MRIs magnetic field, calculation of magnetic fields induced in a patient by an MRI, and calculation of heating an entire medical implant during an MRI procedure. These programs are as of yet without a user interface; input and output are done with MATLAB.
Advantages:
-Increased patient safety
-Calculates heating, electric currents, and magnetic field strength simultaneously
Potential Applications:
-Medical/Health
-Monitoring interactions between MRI and medical implants
TRL: 9
Intellectual Property:
N/A, N/A, N/A
Keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging safety, MRI medical implants, electromagnetic field analysis, implant heating calculation, electric current induced by MRI, MRI magnetic field strength, patient safety MRI, medical device interaction MRI, MATLAB analysis program, noninvasive medical procedure