Cardiac Rhythm Management Devices

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Introduction

Magnetic materials are categorised as either hard or soft. A soft magnet material is easy to magnetise/demagnetise, whereas hard magnetic materials retain their magnetic properties after being magnetised. Permanent magnets are made up of hard magnetic materials which is able to create its own persistent magnetic field once magnetised. They can be made in different sizes and strength and thus, making them implantable into the body without anatomical restriction.
Different kind of magnets are nowadays being used in medical application from magnets for retention to guides for catheters in brain surgery. Due to the increased development of permanent magnets more and more magnetic materials are being used in medical applications. These report will concentrate on the medical devices such as Cardiac Rhythm Management Devices (CRMD): pacemakers implantable, cardio defibrillators and bone distraction. These applications use activation magnets which is contained in a medical device which is then implanted into the human body. As medical device is exposed to an external magnetic field they either activate or deactivate the device. Since the magnetic material is used inside the body it has to be able to perform an appropriate response in the host in the given application. This is often achieved with encapsulation of the magnetic material in order to stop any interference of the magnet with the body which also ultimately eliminates risk of corrosion1.

Implantable Pacemaker

An implantable pacemaker is used to assist the normal contraction rhythm of the heart when the heart’s own generated electrical impulses become impaired which is caused by heart block – delay or no conduction between atria and ventricle.
These pacemakers c...

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