Electromagnetic interference from lasers and intense light sources in the treatment of patients with artificial pacemakers and other implantable cardiac devices

Abstract

Measurements of the electric and magnetic field strengths surrounding six laser systems and one intense pulsed light system were carried out. The results were compared to exposure limits published by cardiac device manufacturers to assess the risk of electromagnetic interference to implantable cardiac devices such as pacemakers or implantable cardioverter defibrillators. The majority of lasers assessed in this study were found to produce electric and magnetic field strengths below the published exposure limits for cardiac devices. However, the low-frequency electric field and static magnetic field of both the CO2 laser and the ruby laser were found to exceed these limits. Ensuring that a small separation is maintained at all times between the laser unit and any patient with a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator appears to be a sensible expedient in avoiding overexposure of an implantable cardiac device to electromagnetic interference. Due to the single-shot fast discharge nature of the intense pulsed light system, changes in electromagnetic field strength were too fast for some of the measuring equipment used in this study to register accurate readings during operation.

Influence and safety of electronic apex locators in patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices: a systematic review

“…The new-generation-implanted cardiac pacemakers are considered to be impervious to most sources of interference because of their construction, which encapsulates components in a stainless steel or titanium cover, and are equipped with an interference mode [7,15,33]. In addition, these new devices have bipolar leads and capacitors that effectively filter out electromagnetic interference and, thus, reduce external interference [34,35].…”

“…More than 66,000 implantable cardioverter defibrillators are implanted annually in the USA [6], where a permanent pacemaker was supplied to 2.9 million individuals between 1993 and 2009. In the USA, this number is still increasing each year [7,8]. Similarly, in Europe, the number of implanted implantable cardioverter defibrillators has increased annually [9].…”

Management of cardiac implantable electronic devices during interventional pulmonology procedures

“…Comparative safety of the various laser systems during standby vs firing modes are summarized in Table 2. All except the CO 2 and ruby lasers were found to generate electromagnetic field strengths below the permissible limits for CIEDs (17). A similar Brazilian in vitro study in 2015 assessed the EMI between the CIEDs and the endodontic laser devices and reported no interference caused by the endodontic TwinFlex laser (wavelength range 660-808 nm) device (18).…”

Possibilities and safety measures for the use of physiotherapy in patients with implanted antiarrhythmic devices

“…О безопасности лазерной терапии у пациентов с ИАУ известно немного. Изучение возможного влияния устройств, используемых для лазерной терапии, на функции ИАУ показало, что создаваемое электрическое и магнитное поля вокруг прибора и в зоне лечения были ниже установленного порога чувствительности ЭС [47]. Обеспечение необходимого расстояния между лазерным блоком и пациентом с ИАУ представляется разумным способом избежать чрезмерного воздействия электромагнитных помех.…”