Silicone implants studied with MRI

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of implanted silicone devices to assess how they change with time have been made by radiologists at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown. Although the studies were in rats, not humans, and maximum elapsed time was six months, rather than decades, results to date indicate that a combination of in vivo imaging, localized spectroscopy, and in vitro multinuclear solidstate spectroscopy is useful for the study of age-induced changes in implant devices. The method may be used in some of the studies called for by the Food & Drug Administration to gauge longterm safety of silicone implants. Such implants are used for reconstruction of breasts as well as damaged facial features and finger joints and for controlled release of drugs. The study group's findings were described by Bettina Pfleiderer at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society last month in San Francisco. Working with John Moore, Jerome L. ...