CT scans compromise safety of implanted devices
July 18th, 2008 joshua
Life-saving, implanted medical devices can malfunction when their users receive computerized tomography scans, the Food and Drug Administration warned this week.
Devices like pacemakers, cardiac defibrillators and insulin pumps are most likely to malfunction when receiving the highly used CT scan.
Reports of the implanted devices shocking patients or sending inaccurate signals during and following the scan have been reported and the FDA has issued the public health alert in reaction to these reports.
Six reports of devices malfunctioning and the possibility of nine more luckily was a signal for the FDA to react surprisingly early.
Last year, researchers at Mayo Clinic reported temporary malfunction of heart devices following CT scans.
The FDA listed the following medical devices which could be compromised following a CT scan: pacemakers, implantable cardiac defibrillators, neurostimulators, drug infusion and insulin pumps, cochlear implants and retinal implants.
These devices have been linked to numerous reports of injuries and linked to their malfunction for a variety of reasons.
Leads to pacemakers have severed from the device and delivered unnecessary shocks to patients’ hearts. It’s been proven that some of these devices working on wireless technology could be hacked and instructed to give wrong dosage or therapy. They even serve as a source for identity theft as hackers have been able to extract personal information and medical records from the devices.
Millions of Americans have been implanted with one of these medical devices and already cannot receive MRI scans.
Presumably one of these scans is going to be needed in a life-saving way and it will be impossible to use them as more and more people get the devices.
The FDA is suggesting CT scan operators use as little X-ray as possible and be prepared to treat adverse reactions due to device malfunction.
