Medical Device Deemed Safe for MRI Procedure

A cardiac device launched in Japan by Biotronik has now been approved for full-body MRI scanning at 1.5 tesla strength providing images of the heart area post-implantation. The Itrevia 7 HF-T cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) is said to be the first offering these conditions in Japan, the world’s largest MRI market with more MRI scanners per capita than any other country.

Dr. Seiji Takatsuki, Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Keio University Hospital, said the announcement marked a huge leap in treating CRT-D patients with comorbidities. “In addition to having indispensable diagnostic information in the field of cerebrovascular treatment and orthopedics, MRI offers extensive diagnostic cardiovascular information. Many CRT-D patients undergo a cardiac MRI (CMR) before implantation to assess the late gadolinium enhancement. However, until now CMR after CRT-D implantation was not possible, thus no assessment on the presence or absence of any changes could be achieved. Now with the condition change, post-operative cardiac MRI examination has become feasible with the Itrevia 7 HF-T series.”