title: Effects of irradiation on the components of implantable pacemakers.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of irradiation on implantable pacemaker components. The pacemaker was divided into three components: lead wire and electrode, battery, and electrical circuit, and each component was irradiated by X-ray and electron beams, respectively. The pacemaker parameters were measured by both telemetry data of the programmer and directly measured data from the output terminal. The following results were obtained. For the lead wire and electrode, there was no effect on the pacemaker function due to irradiation by X-ray and electron beams. In the case of battery irradiation, there was no change in battery voltage or current up to 236Gy X-ray dose. In the electrical circuit, the pacemaker reverted to the regular beating rate (fixed-rate mode) immediately after the start of X-ray irradiation, and it continued in this mode during irradiation. In patients with their own heartbeat rhythm, changing to the fixed-rate mode may cause dangerous conditions such as ventricular fibrillation. When the accumulated irradiation dose is increased, another failure can be seen in the output voltage of the pacemaker. The pacing output voltage dropped rapidly by about 40 % at 30-88Gy. Decreasing the output voltage results in pacing disorders, and heart failure may occur. In the telemetry data of the programmer, no change in output voltage could be detected, highlighting the difference between telemetry data and actual pacing data.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Technology, Miyazaki Medical College Hospital. skawamur@fc.miyazaki-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Noriyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kuga
authors.forename: Tooru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shiba
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toyoshima
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hyodo
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirose
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matoba
mesh_terms: D004567:Electrodes, Implanted / Q000009:adverse effects; D004868:Equipment Failure; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011827:Radiation; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011835:Radiation Protection; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control