[Sharon]

The Missile Effect

Also referred to as the projectile effect, the missile effect is the tendency of the extreme strength of contemporary MRI magnets to draw ferromagnetic materials into the center of the magnet.

Iron-containing materials, including steel, can be drawn to an MRI with such force that they become airborne, accelerating at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour!!

The attractive force exerted by MRI magnets on ferromagnetic objects has frequently and repeatedly resulted in accidents jeopardizing the safety of patients and staff, as well as the MRI equipment itself.

In 2001 on of the most infamous missile effect fatalities occurred, that of a 6-year-old post-operative patient receiving a follow-up scan at Westchester Medical Center in New York. This accident occurred when an oxygen cylinder was brought into the MRI scan room while the young boy was inside the bore of the magnet. The magnet grabbed the steel cylinder and drew it into the bore, where it crashed into the boy, killing him.

Failure to properly look for and detect metallic objects in the MRI suite and on the patient's body can result in what is commonly referred to as a "Missile Effect" injury. In the unfortunate event that a metallic object is not removed from the vicinity of the MRI equipment, the magnetic force of the MRI machine, which can reach 60,000 times the force of the Earth's magnetic field, pulls the stray metallic objects towards its core, injuring and destroying anything or anyone in its path.

Below are test examples of magnetic objects that have underwent an MRI scanner's missile effect

[Sharon]

Here is the story of the boy who was killed:

A 6-year-old boy died after undergoing an MRI exam at a New York-area hospital when the machine's powerful magnetic field jerked a metal oxygen tank across the room, crushing the child's head.

The force of the device's 10-ton magnet is about 30,000 times as powerful as Earth's magnetic field, and 200 times stronger than a common refrigerator magnet.

The canister fractured the skull and injured the brain of the young patient, Michael Colombini, of Croton-On-Hudson, N.Y., during the procedure Friday. He died of the injuries on Sunday, the hospital said.

The routine imaging procedure was performed after Colombini underwent surgery for a benign brain tumor last week. Westchester Medical Center officials said he was under sedation at the time of the deadly accident.

Hospital Takes ‘Full Responsibility’

"The medical center assumes full responsibility for the accident. Our sorrow is immeasurable and our prayers and our thoughts are with the child's family," the hospital's president and CEO, Edward Stolzenberg, said in a statement.

The medical center, which is located 15 miles north of New York City in Valhalla, reported the accident as required, and the state health department sent investigators to the scene Monday. The hospital said it was conducting its own inquiry as well.

A medical center spokeswoman would not say who brought the canister into the room.

"He was a delightful 6-year-old boy," remembered Lois Gimple Shaukat, a neighbor of the family. "He, you know, had … big eyes and a bright smile."

Procedure Considered Safe and Effective

"These tend to be extremely safe machines if used properly," said Dr. Emanuel Kanal, the director of magnetic resonance services in the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Department of Radiology, and a widely recognized expert on MRI safety.

He estimates between 8 million and 10 million MRI procedures are performed in the United States each year, the vast majority without complications.

Nevertheless, in the years since the device first went into widespread use, there have been "hundreds or thousands" of incidents where objects became magnetized and attracted to MRI machines, he notes. The items have included cigarette lighters, paper clips, clipboards, and similar objects.

Last year, an MRI scan at a Rochester, N.Y., hospital pulled a gun out of a police officer's hand and discharged a shot.

"But [such incidents] are still the extreme minority," and serious injury from items magnetized by MRIs is even rarer, he said.

Kanal stressed that technicians are typically extremely well-trained and careful to screen for potentially dangerous items.

Personnel Trained to Look Out for Problem Objects

"It is unusual for any accident to happen around an MRI because MRI personnel are generally very trained … well trained to look out for such metal objects," agrees Denise Leslie, a private radiologist.

MRI machines have markings around them indicating the dangerous magnetic field, she explained.

The devices are generally considered extremely safe, but some people, such as those with pacemakers, generally cannot be scanned. The intense magnetic field can interfere with the function of certain electronic devices, and will easily erase credit card strips.

Tooth fillings and orthopedic implants are generally not problematic, Kanal said, but there are rare exceptions, such as temporary magnetic root caps.

The National Institutes of Health has stressed the danger of leaving objects that can be magnetized near the machine.

"The most important known risk is the projectile effect, which involves the forceful attraction of ferromagnetic objects to the magnet," the NIH concluded after a conference studying the devices in 1987.

Magnetic resonance imaging uses electromagnetic waves to produce highly detailed 3-dimensional images of the body. The device was invented in the early 1970s and first used on humans in 1977.

SOURCE

[McLovin510]

Very difficult and expensive to shut one down too. We have an "open" MRI at our facility, the cooling shut down once discharging the magnet overnight. Was told it cost $50,000 to re-cool the coil and charge it again. Don't walk in the room to close to it with a screwdriver in your back pocket, my mistake.

[Sharon]

Originally Posted by McLovin510 ↗

Don't walk in the room to close to it with a screwdriver in your back pocket, my mistake.

Ooh what happened?? Were you hurt?

I have a spinal cord stimulator implanted in my 'back pocket' and the thought of going in an MRI unit shits me up!

I have a Medic Alert bracelet on at all times that reads "Implanted medical device. Caution MRI & CT scan" in case of an accident where I'm unconcious or something.

[JustifiableHomicide]

That's crazy!!

[Kazoo]

...is that fucking lawn mower?

[McLovin510]

Originally Posted by Sharon. ↗

Ooh what happened?? Were you hurt?

I have a spinal cord stimulator implanted in my 'back pocket' and the thought of going in an MRI unit shits me up!

I have a Medic Alert bracelet on at all times that reads "Implanted medical device. Caution MRI & CT scan" in case of an accident where I'm unconcious or something.

Was pulling cables across the ceiling, nothing other than it was almost pulled out of my pocket. Forgot it was there!

[Kanda444]

Originally Posted by Sharon. ↗

The Missile Effect

Below are test examples of magnetic objects that have underwent an MRI scanner's missile effect

i have an MRI scheduled soon... good to know... good to know

[Xfactor]

Never knew the magnets were so big.

[Cassius]

When I was a student one of my classmates got booted from the program for walking into an active MRI with a couple of pens in his pocket. No one got hurt but scared the living piss out of him (evidenced by the huge wet stain in his pants).