Pacemakers in MRI for the neuroradiologist

Cardiac implantable electronic devices are frequently encountered in clinical practice in patients being screened for MR imaging examinations. Traditionally, the presence of these devices has been considered a contraindication to undergoing MR imaging. Growing evidence suggests that most of these patients can safely undergo an MR imaging examination if certain conditions are met. This document will review the relevant cardiac implantable electronic devices encountered in practice today, the background physics/ technical factors related to scanning these devices, the multidisciplinary screening protocol used at our institution for scanning patients with implantable cardiac devices, and our experience in safely performing these examinations since 2010.