Intraocular lens implants (pseudophakoi) and steelwire sutures: a contraindication for MRI?

The strong magnetic field of the super-conducting MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) apparatus could cause problems in the presence of metallic foreign material, such as the metal clips and loops of intraocular lenses and steel as suturing material. If the magnetic field were to induce movement this could be dangerous for the eye. In this study these materials were tested with the 0.5 Tesla MRI and a 1.0 Tesla permanent magnet. Intraocular lenses with a platinum clip, or metallic or plastic loops, and 5 X 0/6 X 0 steelwire used as suturing material experienced no magnetic movement or change of position in the strong magnetic field. Neither did these foreign materials have any effect on the images obtained (spin-echo pulse sequence, 0.5 T Gyroscan). No artefacts were produced, the normal MRI picture of the T1-T2 calculated images, made with a special deticated eye surface coil, were obtained.