Medtronic won European regulatory approval for its Activa line of deep brain stimulators (DBS) to be safe for use in full body MRI scans, given certain conditions. Previously, the company had approval for only head scans under MRI for patients wearing their DBS devices. The new announcement allows both future as well as existing patients to receive MRI scans of any part of the body, as long as specific precautions are taken by the radiology techs.

These are the only DBS systems to receive a full-body MR-conditional approval from the European authorities, allowing patients with Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, refractory epilepsy, and dystonia to continue receiving medical care that requires MR scans. The implants have to be appropriately programmed before undergoing a scan, keeping them working so as to allow the acquisition of sharp images unaffected by the jerky motions associated with neuromotor disease

source:Medtronic