I am scheduled to have an MRI of my head this next Monday to look/check for possible physical abnormalities which may be causing tinnitus and hearing loss in my right ear.
Obviously I don’t want to expose the electronics of either the pump or my Medtronic CGM transmitter to the MRI’s magnetic field. So those will be coming off before I have the procedure. But I’m wondering if I will be required to yank the entire sensor or if I can try to get away removing and then later reconnecting just the transmitter. As far as I know the only metal in the sensor is the (very) thin platinum wire in the probe.
Just asking for the heck of it. My experience with hospitals leads me to believe that if there is any doubt in their minds … and there seems to always be doubt … they’ll insist I pull the entire thing. Also, Monday will be my 6’th day on this Enlite so it will probably be fading away on me by that time anyway.
Yeah, but as far I know it’s all non-ferrous metal. Still, I suppose the current the magnetic field induced in the platinum and copper and whatever could be enough to physically damage the sensor, so yeah, I guess removing it is the way to go. (Not that I expect them to offer me a choice. )
I don’t think I’ve had an MRI with a sensor, but what I would do is remove the xmitter, and reconnect when I’m done with the MRI and see if it still works. Seems kinda goofy to just throw away a sensor if it isn’t going to hurt anything by remaining in my body. But first I’d want to see what the MRI tech thinks before jumping into the machine with the sensor in place.
Here is what Medtronic says in their Important Safety Information Indications, Contraindications, Warnings and Precautions regarding Exposure to magnetic fields and radiation - If you are going to have an X-ray, MRI, diathermy treatment, CT scan, or other type of exposure to radiation, take off your pump, sensor, transmitter, meter and remote control before entering a room containing any of these equipment. The magnetic fields and radiation in the immediate vicinity of these devices can make them nonfunctional or damage the part of the pump that regulates insulin delivery, possibly resulting in over delivery and severe hypoglycemia. If your pump is inadvertently exposed to a magnetic field, discontinue use and contact our 24 Hour HelpLine for further assistance.
The sensor is included in that recommendation. Please let us know what happens if you choose to not remove it. Also, I wish you well and hope the results are good from your images.
The sensor needle itself is one thing, but even if you remove the transmitter the sensor side has metallic contact points that the transmitter connects to. Not sure what all the consequences are, but since the MRI is essentially a really powerful magnet you might be risking interference with the imaging even if there’s no harm to the sensor itself (or you) involved.
I have had two mri’s in the past month. Take them off- the units that is. Believe me the people/facitily administering the mri does not want to pay to replace your equipment.
Just be sure to lock it up, while in the test. That way you know its the way you left it, before the test.
Good luck with the mri,
Hang in there, this too shall pass. That’s my mantra lately.
Barb from Boston
Just as an update, I removed everything before the MRI, pump and transmitter and sensor. Since I was on the sensor’s 6’th day, which is Medtronic’s party line cutoff for an Enlite, I didn’t see much point in trying to push it further.
There was also the complication that the sensor was on my right arm. I still have no idea how to remove, recharge, and replace the transmitter while leaving the sensor undisturbed when using only one hand.
My only other comment is that MRIs are noisy. They warned about that going in, but as I lay there I kept wondering what effect all that noise would have on the image. A big point was made about “not moving” while I was being set up for imaging process. But if movement can distort the resulting image, then what sort of an image of my inner ear could they get given how much noise that sucker made?
Oh, well. Maybe something to ask about at some future time if I remember to.
The noise is only bothersome to us @irrational_John actual movement will cause artifacts and can blur the image but even though it seems like maybe the noise is vibrating our brains it’s not
could they not provide noise suppression because the target was your ear? I get ear plugs for MRI’s and IIRC, I had them when the MRI was to look for an acoustic neuroma. AAMOF I had 3 MRI’s for AN–the first one that detected the one on my left side, and 2 others to follow up, on the other side. All told, I’ve had about 6-8 MRI’s. They don’t all sound the same, but they are all quite noisy as you mentioned.
Oh, they gave me ear plugs. And padded both sides of my head and strapped it.
But I could still hear the MRI. And since I could hear it that means the bones in my inner ear were vibrating thousands of time a second. I guess it must not matter for whatever they think they might be looking for.
I hope I remember to ask about it … and get the chance to do so.
Were these MRIs all done before you started using CGM?
In my MRI(s), they load my playlist up so I can enjoy the time in the tunnel! LOL - they don’t mind turning it up and some of the selections might well be louder than the magnet at a real show, but it sure does not totally drown out the noise of the magnet, it just makes it more tolerable. I’d much rather have an MRI than an X-ray of any type given a choice. I hope your ear issues can be resolved i_J
Oh. I realize now that it was misleading when I said earlier that “I removed everything before the MRI”. While I pulled off the sensor & transmitter, I actually only disconnected the pump from my infusion site. I also left my infusion set in place during the MRI.
My understanding is that there is no metal, only plastic, in the Quick-Set infusion sets I use. And while I was resigned to inserting a new sensor, I didn’t want to also have to muck about with a new infusion set. Yeah, I know it ain’t all that much more to do, but still …
)
