Question

Discuss the possibility that a Hall voltage would be generated on the moving heart of a patient during MRI imaging. Also discuss the same effect on the wires of a pacemaker. (The fact that patients with pacemakers are not given MRIs is significant.

Short answer

The Hall effect would appear in a person with a normal heart, but not in a substantial way. The effect would be much stronger if the person had a pacemaker.

Step-by-step solution

Concept Introduction

A pacemaker wire is a small wire that connects the device's generator to the heart on one end and the device's generator to the heart on the other. Each pacemaker may have two or more wires that must be inserted into the right atrium, right ventricle, and occasionally the left ventricle.

Explanation

During MRI imaging, a Hall effect voltage can be formed on a patient's moving heart, but it will not cause any substantial damage due to the heart muscle's comparatively low conductivity.

Further, since the wires in pacemakers are exceptionally good conductors, the effect would be substantially more noticeable if the same incident happened to someone with a pacemaker.