Body scanners used at airports and other public places for security screening are safe for patients with pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices, based on research presented Aug. 26 at ESC Congress 2018.

As part of the study, 300 patients with a pacemaker, ICD or CRT device attending a routine check-up at the at the German Heart Centre Munich underwent a millimeter wave body scan mimicking the scans at airport security. An electrocardiogram was recorded during the scan to detect any cardiac device malfunctions caused by electromagnetic interference. Overall findings found no evidence of electromagnetic interference or device malfunction during the scans.

"We found no evidence of electromagnetic interference or device malfunction with the full body scanner we tested and can conclude that scanning is safe for patients with implanted cardiac devices," said Carsten Lennerz, MD, study author from the German Heart Centre Munich, Technical University of Munich and German Centre for Cardiovascular Research. "This may be because cardiac devices filter out high frequency signals such as millimetre waves, the waves hardly penetrate the body at all, and the scan time is very short (usually around 100 milliseconds)."

Lennerz noted that one of the benefits of the study was its ability to mimic the same electromagnetic fields used in real life, but in a controlled hospital setting. Based on the study's findings, he suggests there is little need for specific protocols or restrictions on the use of body scans in people with pacemakers and other implantable devices.

Keywords: ESC18, ESC Congress, Cross-Sectional Studies, Electromagnetic Phenomena, Prostheses and Implants

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