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Anyone Out There - Medical Implants & Metal Detectors?


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Due to many injuries, operations, fusions etc, I went to a pain clinic to check out my options as the pills are helping less and less.

They suggested a Spinal cord implant that sends electro magnetic signals to confuse the pain that is occurring. Device can be adjusted as to strength and duration of the impulses. My question to the Dr was would it interfere with a metal detector? He said he didn`t know but would try to find out from the manufacturer. If it does it is not an option for me as I love detecting and will carry on as I do now.

Anyone out there who has experience with these things?

Thanks,

Rege

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4 hours ago, Rege-PA said:

Due to many injuries, operations, fusions etc, I went to a pain clinic to check out my options as the pills are helping less and less.

They suggested a Spinal cord implant that sends electro magnetic signals to confuse the pain that is occurring. Device can be adjusted as to strength and duration of the impulses. My question to the Dr was would it interfere with a metal detector? He said he didn`t know but would try to find out from the manufacturer. If it does it is not an option for me as I love detecting and will carry on as I do now.

Anyone out there who has experience with these things?

 

Here are a couple such devices:

https://www.bostonscientific.com/content/dam/Manuals/us/current-rev-en/91005926-01RevC_Precision_Novi_IPG_DFU_en-US_S.pdf

https://www.bostonscientific.com/content/dam/Manuals/us/current-rev-en/91057051-01RevA_Precision_Spectra_IPG_DFU_en-US_S.pdf

It appears they can be tuned to pulse between 2 per second and 1200 per second, which overlaps the pulse rate of at least some PI detectors.  There could be other manufacturers than just Boston Scientific.  It appears that they can be turned on and off although I don't think that is typically a patient option but rather done by a tech/med-pro in an office.  It still would be worth asking about.

I wonder if they could allow you to test this -- e.g. with a unit that has yet to be implanted but can be operated, or even with a volunteer who already has one.  You supply the detector and expertise on that end!

Keep in mind "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" and that especially applies to searching the internet, which is what I've done.  Hope you find a compatible solution.  My wife suffers from spinal cord induced pain and from listening to her experience it is no fun.

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Thanks for the info GB. I will get to try the Boston Scientific in about a month. It might be possible to turn it off but the Dr was worried that the detector might reprogram the settings, just have to wait and see.

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 Have you considered having a 5 pin plug implanted and using a PI detector for pain relief? I know detecting seems to help with my mental problems.

 Please forgive me for making light of your aches and pains but some times a grin helps as much as anything.

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Klunker, I wish it were that easy but you are right, detecting does make me forget about the pain, especially when a nugget is smiling back at you.
Its just the down time that causes the problems, usually at night or any other time it wants to humble me.  I have been told many times that I am crazy for continuing my hobby in my condition but without it and the friends I have met I feel my situation would be worse.

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They usually give you a trail period to test it before it's implanted. It's done in the Dr.office with a company rep. assisting. So you should be able to test it out using your detector before it's surgically implanted. If you have lots of hardware & scar tissue they may not be able to get it in place. They couldn't get it in place for me anyway. Hope it works for you. 

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Hello Rege-PA, I recall an alarming incident when a visitor walked past our experimental  RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device “Transmitter”) ... ie 50 millisecond burst of 134.2Khz of very intense magnetic field, used for Electronic cattle ear tag detection. He had an under-skin Pain Blocker Transplant that had leads threaded up his neck to trick his brain into “mitigating” random pain episodes (he is war veteran when vehicle rolled over onto him). As he approached the alternating magnetic field emanating from the 1.5 metre diameter, resonant detector coils caused him to respond in increasing pain ... somehow the interference was causing “mis-firing” of the electronic pain blocker. There is a slight similarity here to your desire to use a pulse Induction detector. However my suspicion is the detector coil would need be very close to the (your?) implant to cause “harmful interference”, though, for a more common heart pacemaker death may be possible.  I chanced on this forum and your thread in particular and advise you be careful and seek more scientific studies... this is a tip of the iceberg problem.

SAM_2291.JPG

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Thank you for your input Ray, this is getting more interesting as we go along. If the coil is the cause of the interference it might be OK, as the implant is waist high, and you have a choice of what side. However if the interference is caused by the box, it might be a problem if they were next to each other.  I had the same problem with kryptonite in my younger days!  Perhaps some kind of shielding would prevent this.  

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