Neodymium Implant questions

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  • Ah I see. I wonder if someone has tried liquid bandage, or something similar?Maybe it could be used in addition to stitches to prevent infection?
  • Got the povidone-iodine, sweet there.

    I was kind of thinking that having the magnet closer to the surface would make for better EM detection at the cost of perhaps having an odd feeling finger (& odd sensation of touch?) & would also increase the risk of migration/rejection. Whereas having it deeper feels as though there might be less complications with aftercare & more retention in touch. Just theories as I don't personally know anyone who has done this procedure & as far as I can tell no one has commented as to whether their sense of touch has been interfered with in any way.

    Seems the stitch is unavoidable. I did have an inkling that it may help hold the magnet in place but was really hoping to hear testimonies telling otherwise haha. Oh well.

    And on the note of my spotter. She said she wouldn't aid in the implantation but she will patch me up if I do pass out (doubtful). We've known each other for 8 years (partnered) so there's a fair level of trust to fall back o
  • edited October 2011
    ...fall back on. & we've both watched umpteen implant videos & read the most relevant articles. Seems all I need to now is sit back and wait for everything to arrive.That was quite an essay by the way, but it's much appreciated.
  • Also, I haven't found anything through research, but does the placement of the poles make any difference to the magnet's function? What I mean by this is will the magnets need to be placed in my fingers with the same north-south orientation? I realize this would have an effect when passing my hand over a strong magnet (attraction-repulsion) but am unsure in terms of EM fields......I might just try to align them all anyway, because I'm pedantic.
  • @ryuzaki_yamada:  If you're just going with one magnet in each finger, then the orientation shouldn't matter.  However, there was some discussion a while back about whether stacking magnets in the same finger N-S S-N or vice-versa would increase the sensitivity.  So far as I know, nobody's tried it, so we don't know for sure.

    ~Ian
  • I can't think of any reason that EM fields would feel different based on the orientation of implanted magnets. I don't know nearly as much as a lot of people on these forums, but if I'm not mistaken, the sensation is caused by the oscillation of the field - and those oscillations are so fast that it would be practically impossible to discern anything based on the polarity.
  • No, field orientation makes no difference to sensation, that I've found - with of course the strong-wrong-orientation-will-flip-your-implant caveat.
  • I was under the impression the oscillations occured in the presence of an AC field only. Otherwise it was more of a slight twitch/pressing/tugging. Of course this is all just internet hearsay, but if it doesn't make a difference then it seems the implantation should be at least a little easier. That being said I'm still going to try to make them uniform, me being me.
  • You got it right. I was giving the caveat that strong static magnetic fields attempt to swing your magnet to oppose itself.
  • OakOak
    edited October 2011
    I'm starting to wonder if I've ever felt a DC field... does anyone know of a common object/whatever that only produces (or uses or whatever - you can tell I know almost nothing about this) DC current in North America (USA)?
  • edited October 2011
    Well the thing is, even with DC, you can get an oscillating waveform, so that you still get the oscillating magnetic field. What you're looking for is a constant DC power source, probably something battery powered? Other than that, my first instinct was to say a laptop charger, but that converts AC mains to DC, so you might get interference from the mains. 

    Hook up a car battery to something?
  • MMA Welder power supply will see you right...
  • @Oak: If you wanted to feel a field generated by DC, you could make a solenoid by coiling a lot of wire (maybe around an iron nail), and then hook that up to a AA battery. A steady current will generate a constant magnetic field, so it should feel just the same as a permanent magnet. It might be fun to experiment with, though - just make sure you don't burn yourself, things could heat up quickly.
  • I just stumbled upon something interesting;  it turns out that a person with magnetic implants can safely go through MRIs, without the implant ripping out of their skin (under the question "What if I need an MRI?").  I guess it just goes to show you:  never trust your own hypotheses; just the data.
  • Alright, so I got my magnet implanted a week ago, didn't hurt too bad, hasn't rejected and everything's going fine. Pretty sure I haven't felt any magnetic fields yet, though I expect that might take another week or so.
  • As many people have said, finding a piercer/professional to do the magnetic implants is near impossible.  I live in the bay area, there must be someone in SF that does this sort of thing, right?  Or L.A.?  Does anyone know?  I heard mention of a list of people on Steve Hayworth's site but I was unable to locate it.

     It's crazy that a person can get breast implants but not a tiny magnet.  I'm fine with paying 200 bucks...
  • I have another question about the resilience of the silicone or parylene coating.  Has anyone tested this? What sort of forces can one of steve's magnets withstand?  Or one coated with sugru?  Any predictions about the long term survivability of these things?  could they go decades+ without breaking, or does a single accident wreck them?
  • I would not personally recommend sugru. It's not rated as food-safe, let alone biocompatible, and I wouldn't trust it to not break down.

    There were some problems with Haworth's original silicone coated magnets, but I hear the new ones are very reliable.

    Parylene coatings are very thin (measured in microns) and have excellent chemical resistance and biocompatibility, but can be scraped off a surface using a sharp tool. There's a paper out there that shows parylene coatings can't survive getting chewed up in the mouth, but I'd imagine that the inside of a finger would cushion it enough to prevent problems. It sounds like the Feeling Waves guy crushed his fingertip and the implant did fine. I haven't heard of any problems yet with parylene coated magnets, and that's the coating I'm planning to use. Does anybody know the longest amount of time someone has had a parylene coated magnetic implant for?
  • Well, considering Nathan chose parylene for its use in the medical prosthetic industry, it's probably fairly safe (see here for some evidence).
    I've a Haworth-type silicone coated magnet; I've climbed walls without any issue, but I don't know how well it would handle serious shock.
  • Hi! I'm brand new to the community and i'd like to offer some hopefully reassuring information regarding magnetic implants and MRI procedures.

    There is anecdotal evidence that the magnets used for implantation are not large enough to be considerably affected by MRI. On Steve Haworth's site (as Ian already mentioned) he gives examples from clients who reported only a strong vibration. I did some additional searching and found that some dental and occular implants are held in place by magnets and those do not seem to hinder a patient's ability to receive an MRI, though there is a risk of the magnet being damaged or demagnetized during the process. This is only a major concern for those who are likely to require an MRI while unconscious, in which case a tattoo is a good precautionary measure.
    For those of us who lead a relatively low-risk lifestyle and are unlikely to require an MRI without giving prior consent, the implants can simply be masked with a magnetic shield like any metal implant or prosthetic.

    I hope that dispels any lingering qualms anyone may have.
  • edited January 2012
    @BobTheCow, although I don't know of any local magnet-implanting professionals (I live in New Hampshire), I didn't have trouble finding one. As it so happens, Steve Haworth travels quite a bit, and you can probably get him to implant a magnet when he's in the area. He has a calendar on his website where you can see his plans. In my case, I drove down to see him when he was in New York for some Cyborg-something conference.

    And according to Russ Fox, "The oldest implants using this specific implant-grade silicone coating have been healed in the body since 1967. This silicone is very trustworthy."

    After the magnet was implanted, I followed Steve's directions-- cover the wound with a bandage for a few weeks, change it regularly and clean it with H2Ocean, avoid getting it wet for a week-- and didn't have any problems with rejection or infection.
  • BenBen
    edited February 2012
    If you do it yourself: make sure to cut deep enough and against my previous assumptions saturation might be necessary.

    I implanted my magnet on 27th november 2011 and it healed well enough. The sensation was never very strong but my senses never really worked as they should, also the implant is on the side of the finger rather than under the fingertip (I thought this a safer location, still do). 
    But the real problem came apparent to me today. I had the suspicion of it being rejected for quite some time since there was always a little gap with the magnet breaching the skin. Only today I saw it actually coming out more and more. So I decided to saturate it (just finished).

    (I waited till now just to be sure, I was very curious as to how it would work out and didn't want to jump to conclusion before due time ;)

    Edit:
    so, trying to "saw it in" didn't work as hoped.. Dunno what I'm gonna try next, maybe just pushing it further in and hoping..

    Also I remembered something else. To avoid massive bleeding it helps to keep the finger high. The higher above the heart a finger is the better since gravity sucks blood from it. It will still bleed, but way less.
  • Getting an implant done in 5 days by Steve Haworth... Should prove interesting ;)
  • Got the implant by Steve in Tempe AZ a few days ago.  He was super hospitable and entertained me for the day as my return flight was late at night.  In all around nice guy with tons of interesting things to say.  Now I just have to wait awhile for my finger to heal...
  • Good to hear it went well! Could you write up the procedure he used for reference and comparison, please?
  • @BobTheCow, I got my magnet implanted more than a year ago, and I don't remember the details about how I was keeping it clean while it healed.

    I know Steve had very specific suggestions (don't get it wet for a certain amount of time, keep it covered by a bandage for a certain amount of time, take the bandage off for a certain amount of time each day, etc.).

    If you have that info, and could post it here, it seems like that could be very helpful for other people trying to prevent their wounds from getting infected.
  • Hi, if anyone has any spare parylene coated magnets I could buy from them I would much appreciate it. Failing that I will be buying a minimum order of 100 online from USA.

    Please email me if you have any spares.
    Cheers mat.
  • @Skeptikos, I found the cleaning and maintenance while it healed to be no problem at all.  I used H2 Ocean several times a day, changed the band-aid several times a day as well, and took off the band-aid whenever I thought the stitches weren't at risk of being snagged on something to let it air out.  I would also wash the whole area gently with warm water and soap when I showered, and then H2Ocean and band-aid again when I get out.  With a bit of diligence it healed totally fine and all is well, not much worse than a piercing really.  I think the whole thing is pretty intuitive, I can't really say "4 hours exactly with a band-aid and 27 minutes without," it just depends on your schedule.  When you're watching TV etc take it off, when you're out and about, put one on.  Clean it constantly.  There's no reason it should be getting infected unless you neglect it.
  • I will be injecting my magnet, the same from the group buy. It will be slightly larger than 2mm needle, 2.12mm if I remember correctly. Getting to my question, what would be the best way to close up a hole of this size? 

    A hole this small shouldn't need suturing and if I did it would probably be only one stitch. I will be doing this with a friend who also doesn't know anything about how to do a proper suture, he is a body piercer though. 
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