Long Island man wearing 9kg-metal necklace dies after being sucked into MRI machine
Long Island man wearing 9kg-metal necklace dies after being sucked into MRI machine
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Again, why aren't there metal detectors at the entrances to MRI machines everywhere? For the cost of those machines, the cost of a metal detector is peanuts
A - standard metal detectors probably won't work well right at the MRI room door. Some facilities may have a longer hallway for access and putting one there, far from the actual MRI suite, would make a lot of sense (I think I visited one location that had that layout), but not all facilities are laid out in a way that that could work.
B - the nature of how a metal detector works would probably have negative impacts on MRI image quality if it is too close to the imager - even outside the shield room door.
I did a sort of tour of a couple dozen MRI facilities for a couple of years, the stronger ones all have radio-frequency shield rooms complete with metal / gasketed doors that are supposed to be closed during imaging. Actual practice regarding keeping those doors closed was pretty loose in the places / times I was visiting. And, in the article's case it sounds like imaging wasn't in progress so the door was probably standing open...
I'm sorry but it can't be that hard to have an automated lock on the door. If metal detectors influence the machine, which is possible, then out them further away. Again, with MRI machines costing what they do, these aren't the prices you would worry about.
it can’t be that hard to have an automated lock on the door.
No, but human factors dictate: it can be that hard to use the lock properly.
out them further away.
Some places do this, other places don't have a good layout to make metal detectors a practical thing for the MRI suite.
with MRI machines costing what they do, these aren’t the prices you would worry about.
Often (depending on location), the most expensive part of the MRI suite isn't the device, but the room itself.
not at all practical. a big ol buzzer would have prevented this maybe, but really it's the relaxed culture around the MRI that let it happen. people need to be told either you don't go past the big heavy door with the NO METALS sign, or you get all the metal off you now, or both.
not at all practical
Simple question: why?
You put in a metal detector, and hell, a second door that won't open if metal was detected. These aren't the costs compared to the cost of a single MRI machine.