Wednesday, March 22, 2006

VNS Magnet Expose


I have an almost insatiable curiosity, so once I got ahold of a spare Cyberonics VNS Magnet, I had to know what was in it. Cracking open the case was a bit difficult. I used a hack saw, utility knife, screwdriver, plyers, and a Vise Grip. Once I got it open, I found out why they encase it in plastic. It is a very strong magnet. Strong enough that you could pinch your finger or other extremities between the magnet and steel. If anyone has questions about the magnet, let me know and I would be glad to post about it.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

If you check your logs, you may find Cyberonics interested in this little expeiment. They have been crawling all over the thread where this link is posted.

http://z4.invisionfree.com/VNS_Message_Board/index.php?showtopic=1279

Unknown said...

I'll check out the logs. It would be interesting to see what they do. Last year I wrote them a letter about the @#$% magnets. No response.

Unknown said...

AHA! I came upon your blog while searching for a site to buy spare magnets. Do you know of any??

Anonymous said...

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Unknown said...

I left mine in the dryer and it look like that

Unknown said...

@ Colton B, How well is your VNS working for you? I hope it has helped with your seizures!

apageor2 said...

I'm looking at the photo and I find it quite interesting as it looks to me one VNS magnet seems to appear as the older magnet which I had from the original surgery and the second magnet below it would appear to be the next or newer magnet which I received when I had gotten the next VNS installed after the first VNS wore out.

What I find interesting about all of the above is the fact being I was informed I could not use the above magnet on the new VNS. I had to use the lower VNS magnet. My question is why? If they are the same thing what difference does it make? Would they not do the same thing in the end?

Unknown said...

@apageor2, I suspect that in order to get FDA approval for any of these devices that they have to specify a magnet size, shape, weight, etc. And, in order to cover themselves legally, Cyberonics tells their patients to use whatever magnet that they tested with. I took a gauss meter to my magnet and then compared those results with many other magnets. There isn't a huge amount of difference between magnets once you separate them by a piece of clothing and a bit of skin and some titanium covering. I will try to post some pics of the results.
Cheers!
Scott

Unknown said...

I tested magnets in hardware store and found some that worked. I was in a pickle because mine came off in the gulf while swimming. I don't remember the strength but looked at my cns booklet you get when you have a battery replacement and wasn't far off from the vns magnet.