Medtronic Inc. pacemaker designed to allow patients to undergo an MRI scan, was recommended by A Food and Drug Administration panel for the agency to approve.

At a meeting in College Park, Maryland today, the outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted 15-0 to recommend approval of Medtronic’s Revo MRI SureScan Pacing System” with conditions”.

According to Minneapolis-based Medtronic, about 1.5 million Americans have a surgically implanted device to regulate heart rhythms and in the near future, about 75% will develop cancer or some other diseases that will require a magnetic resonance exam.

Derrick Sung, a New York-based analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co said, “Medtronic’s new pacemaker is ‘a meaningful advance in technology and should drive some incremental market share their way”.

Though, pacemakers are used to treat irregular or stalled heartbeats, yet it is advised by Medtronic not to get MRI scans, as there is a risk that its magnetic field and radio signals may disrupt the device’s setting or can lead to the overheating of the wires. This can activate irregular heart rhythms.