Safety of brain 3-T MR imaging with transmit-receive head coil in patients with cardiac pacemakers: pilot prospective study with 51 examinations.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and feasibility of 3-T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the brain in patients with implanted cardiac pacemakers (PMs) by using a transmit-receive head coil.

Materials And Methods: The study protocol was approved by the institutional review board. Signed informed consent was obtained from all subjects.

Morphology-enhanced atrial event classification improves sensing in pacemakers.

Background: In atrial-based pacing, appropriate therapy and reliable diagnostics depend on detection and discrimination of atrial signals. Accurate classification of atrial events is mainly confounded by oversensing of ventricular far-field R-wave signals (FFRW), but attempts to reject FFRWs by manipulating atrial sensitivity and/or postventricular atrial blanking period (PVAB) may result in undersensing (especially of atrial fibrillation, AF) or in 2:1 atrial flutter detection. The objective of this study is therefore to evaluate if such methods can be improved by morphology-enhanced atrial event classification (MORPH).