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A man has died after being pulled into an MRI machine due to a metal chain he was wearing, according to police. The incident occurred at Nassau Open MRI.
MRI machines utilize powerful magnetic fields to create images of the body’s internal organs. As a safety precaution, individuals are typically instructed to remove all metal objects and change into hospital gowns before undergoing an MRI scan or entering the vicinity of the equipment.
The Nassau County Police Department stated that the victim was wearing an “extra-large metal chain” around his neck at the time of the incident, which they beleive caused him to be “magnetically sucked into the machine, resulting in a medical malpractice.”
While the deceased has not been officially named by authorities, Adrienne Jones-McAllister identified the victim to local media as her husband, Keith.
“He waved goodbye to me and then fell down,” Jones-McAllister recounted tearfully.
Jones-McAllister explained that she was undergoing an MRI for her knee and had asked her husband to enter the scanning room to assist her. She further stated that her husband was wearing a chain weighing approximately 20 pounds (about 9 kg), which he typically used for weightlifting training.
“At that moment, the machine rotated him all over, pulled him in, and he bumped into the MRI machine,” she said.
She reported that the technician attempted to free her husband from the machine.
“I said, ‘Can you turn off this machine? Call 911, do something, turn off this damn machine!'” she recalled.
The BBC has reached out to Nassau Open MRI for comment.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that MRI machine magnetic fields can attract magnetic items of all sizes,including everyday objects like keys and cell phones,as well as medical equipment such as oxygen cylinders. These items can become high-velocity projectiles, possibly damaging the MRI scanner or causing injury to patients and healthcare personnel.
