Pulling an oxygen tank into a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine caused the death of a person being scanned in the device. The 60-year-old patient was at a hospital in Gimhae, South Korea, after suffering a seizure when the accident occurred. Police told the South China Morning Post that after the MRI machine was turned on, a 60-kilogram oxygen cylinder hit the patient’s head while lying in the machine.
MRI machines work by creating strong magnetic fields (and radio waves) that target hydrogen nuclei (protons) in water. As the protons are exposed to a magnetic field (about a thousand times stronger than that produced by a fridge magnet), their axes align. “This uniform alignment creates a magnetic vector directed along the axis of the MRI scanner,” science editor Abi Berger tells the BMJ. “When additional energy (in the form of a radio wave) is added to the magnetic field, the magnetic vector deflects. It causes hydrogen nuclei to resonate. The radio wave frequency (RF), which is the RF, depends on the element sought (in this case hydrogen) and the strength of the magnetic field When the radio frequency source is turned off, the magnetic vector returns to its resting state and this causes a signal (also a radio wave) to be emitted. This signal is used for
While this way of working is great for seeing inside the body, especially parts like cartilage, tendons and muscles where other scanning methods cannot produce images very well, it is not a good option if you are carrying something magnetic.
This is why hospitals prevent the introduction of metal objects into the MRI room. That’s why the police first investigate how the oxygen tank got into the room.
Interestingly, this is not the first incident involving an MRI machine and an oxygen tank. In 2018, a man was pulled into an MRI machine and died while carrying a similar tank.
Tobias Gilk, Senior Vice President of Radiology Planning, AuntMinnie after the most recent accident. “Despite this ‘an event that never happened,’ MRI magnetic bullet accidents still occur on a fairly regular basis, and radiology should be ashamed for it,” he said in a conversation with com. There are no clear rules or requirements to help prevent it.”
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