Safety of pacemakers and other devices

In 1997, the development of MR-safe devices was initiated by J. Schwitter by teaming up with the ETH Zurich, Medtronic, and the Electrophysiology Unit of the Cardiology Division (University Hospital Zurich).

This research was the first to bring an MR-conditional pacemaker to the market. Several multicenter trials such as the “Advisa-MRI” trial (35 centers; Gimbel, Heart Rhythm 2013; Schwitter, Heart Rhythm 2013), the “5076-MRI” trial (36 centers), and the “Evera-MRI” trial (42 centers world-wide; Gold JACC 2015) proved the safety of MR-conditional devices (J. Schwitter contributing as a steering committee member, scan advisory and publication committee member to these studies).

In 1997, the development of MR-safe devices was initiated by J. Schwitter by teaming up with the ETH Zurich, Medtronic, and the Electrophysiology Unit of the Cardiology Division (University Hospital Zurich).

This research was the first to bring an MR-conditional pacemaker to the market. Several multicenter trials such as the “Advisa-MRI” trial (35 centers; Gimbel, Heart Rhythm 2013; Schwitter, Heart Rhythm 2013), the “5076-MRI” trial (36 centers), and the “Evera-MRI” trial (42 centers world-wide; Gold JACC 2015) proved the safety of MR-conditional devices (J. Schwitter contributing as a steering committee member, scan advisory and publication committee member to these studies).

275 patients implanted with an MR-conditional ICD participated in 42 centers world-wide in the EVERA-MRI trial. After the MRI examination, no differences were observed in ICD functionality. Source: M.R. Gold, JACC, 2015.

A total of 73 articles were published as a result of the CRMC research activity since its foundation in 2009.