A MAN has died after he was sucked into an MRI machine in a shock freak accident.
The 61-year-old man suffered catastrophic injuries while a scan was taking place on Wednesday afternoon – and died the following day.
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According to NBC New York, the man had entered an MRI room at Nassau Open MRI in Long Island – where a scan was underway.
He was wearing a large metallic chain around his neck, they said, and it caused him to be pulled of his feet and into the machine.
It resulted in a “medical episode” and the man – who has not been identified – was rushed to hospital with critical injuries.
He died the next day, police said.
It’s not yet clear if the man was a patient at the MRI center at the time – or why he entered the room.
A witness told CBS News the man was told to stay out of the room.
But he reportedly ran inside after hearing a relative screaming.
New York’s Department of Health said it was reviewing the incident.
It said: “MRI facilities in NY are not regulated as part of diagnostic and treatment centers, so are therefore not subject to routine inspections.”
MRI machines use powerful magnets that can pull in metal objects – and this makes it unsafe to bring metal of any kind near the machine.
And the magnetic field is always on – meaning even small objects can cause accidents.
Dr. Payal Sud, a doctor from North Shore University Hospital, told CBS: “The dangers [of not following protocol] could be catastrophic and it underscores why we have all the safety precautions in place.
“If this was a chain that was wrapped around the neck, I could imagine any kind of strangulation injuries that could happen. Asphyxiation, cervical spine injuries.”
Charles Winterfeldt, the hospital’s director of imaging services, said: “It [the necklace] would act like a torpedo trying to get into the middle of the center of the magnet.”
North Shore says that MRI machines can pose a particular danger to people with oxygen tanks, in wheelchairs or those even wearing magnetic jewelry.
Patients are instructed to remove all metal and electrical objects before getting scanned, according to North Shore.
However, experts say injuries and deaths tied to objects being pulled by the magnetic field of MRI machines are rare.
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