FDA says CT scans can make medical devices malfunction

The FDA has issued a warning that some critical electronic devices may malfunction when patients get CT scans. In fact, CT scans may actually cause some medical devices to shock patients using them, or send out inaccurate signals, the agency said. This squares with an earlier study, published by Mayo Clinic researchers, which found that CT scans often interfered with electronic heart devices. Devices on the FDA's warning list include pacemakers, defibrillators, insulin pumps, neurostimulators, drug infusion pumps, cochlear implants and retinal implants. To date, the FDA has received six confirmed reports of devices that malfunctioned after CT scans, as well as another nine reports of suspected problems, though no deaths have occurred to date.

To learn more about the alert:
- read this Chicago Tribune article

Related Articles:
Trend: Providers increase use of CT scans
Trend: CT scan usage climbing, raising radiation fears
New CT scanner breeds demand, controversy
MD self-referrals for imaging slipping through