MRI safety: these magnetic items may present deadly risks for patients

The preparation of a successful MRI screening implies more than the simple lie.

Some materials can interact with the strong magnetic field of an MRI machine (magnetic resonance imaging), so what you wear – or do not wear – is essential.

A recent fatal incident in Westbury, New York, at Nassau Open MRI, involved a man sucked in in an MRI machine due to a heavy metal chain he wore around his neck.

The man dies after being pulled in the MRI machine by metal necklace which he wore

The man, 61, entered the room during his wife’s scan. He was trained in the machine by his necklace, which “led to a medical episode”, according to a press release from the Nassau County Police Service.

The man was transported to a local hospital on July 16 and died the next day because of his injuries, the statement said.

A recent fatal incident in Westbury, New York, at Nassau Open MRI, involved a man sucked in in an MRI machine due to a heavy metal chain he wore around his neck. (istock)

Open Nassau MRI on its website that everything that is metallic must be deleted before entering the machine, including hearing aids, partial plates, dental prostheses, jewelry and hair pins.

Multiple practices and agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA), warn that the “solid and static magnetic field” of an MRI machine will attract magnetic objects.

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Small items such as keys and mobile phones – as well as large heavy items such as oxygen tanks and soil pads – can “damage the scanner” or hurt the patient or health professionals if these objects “become projectiles”, the FDA has been warned.

Multiple practices and agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA), warn that the “solid and static magnetic field” of an MRI machine will attract magnetic objects. (istock)

The magnetic resonance research installation of the Iowa Carver College of Medicine has published MRI safety guidelines, noting that the magnet is always activated and that only patients and professionals are allowed to enter.

What not to bring to an MRI

The following list of articles should not be introduced into MRI screening, according to several experts and medical installations.

Laptops

• Clothing with wires or metal fibers
• Zippers, buttons, snaps or other metal fasteners
• Jewelry
• Piercings
• Watches
• Hair and clips
• Metal -based ink tattoos

Articles that contain metal jewelry, medical devices such as hearing aids, zipper and zippers on clothing, and even metal -based tattoos must be avoided if you get an MRI. (istock)

Medical devices

• Hearing aids
• Partial plates
• Dentures
• Oxygen tanks

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Implanted devices

• Pacemakers
• Aneurysm clips
• Cochlear
• Neurostimulators
• Metal coils and stents

Medical devices implanted such as heart stimulators, ports, pumps, stents, metal pins, screws and even bursts can interfere with MRI. (istock)

Personal articles

• Keys
• Mobile phones
• Pieces
• Makeup with metal particles
• Nail clippers
• Pocket knives
• Enclosure
• Trombones
• Scissors
• Credit and debit cards

What to wear for an MRI

The Florida -based Precision MRI Group warned its website that patients should avoid portable clothes and devices that include metal, because this interaction can cause “burns, dysfunctions in the machine or compromised image quality”.

Depending on the source above, cotton or linen clothes, pajamas and night shirts are all authorized outfits for MRI.

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Items such as the wear of compression, well -adjusted spandex and clothing with metal embellishments should be avoided.

“Some brands of modern clothes incorporate metal fibers into their fabrics for anti-rail or antibacterial purposes,” wrote the group. “Although these innovations are useful in daily life, they are dangerous in an MRI.”

Small metallic items that can adapt in pockets can be transformed into dangerous projectiles in an MRI room. (istock)

MRI with medical devices

ARA Diagnostic Imaging, a radiology practice with several locations in Texas, noted on its website that all implants or devices had to be discussed with a doctor before an MRI.

These include medical devices and the implants mentioned above, as well as others such as artificial heart valves, ports, pumps, artificial limbs, metallic joint prostheses, metal pins, screws, plates, surgical basic foods, certain IUDs and even bursts of bursts in the body.

“Metal objects in the body can have dangerous effects when placed in a magnetic field.”

Kenneth J. Perry, MD, an emergency medical doctor in Charleston, in South Carolina, reiterated in an interview with Fox News Digital the strength of MRI magnets, noting how hospital dresses, surveillance devices and even civilians are free of metal around MRI machines.

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“People must remember to mention any implantable apparatus to MRI Tech,” he said. “Patients with heart stimulators should provide their cardiac stimulator card with them because it will have information on safety protocols to have an MRI.”

Perry added: “nerve stimulators are also sometimes compatible MRI and should have information cards that can be presented to MRI Tech.”

“Modern clothing brands incorporate metal fibers into their fabrics for anti-rail or antibacterial purposes,” warned a center of MRI. (istock)

It is “very important to respond appropriately” when asked for MRI technology if you wear jewelry or if you have piercings, said the doctor.

Patients should also leave their wallets out of the room, noted Perry, because many of them are magnetic.

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“This can also be detrimental to your cards, because the magnet is strong enough to wipe the magnetic strip at the back of the debit and credit cards,” he warned.

Fox News Digital contacted Nassau Open MRI requesting comments.

Melissa Rudy de Fox News Digital contributed to this report.