Please Don't Feed the MRI Machines
from the animal-magnetism dept
As magnetic-resonance imaging scanners have become more commonplace and the power of their magnets has increased, the machines are getting hungry and sucking in all kinds of stuff -- floor polishers, wheelchairs and medical equipment are some of the more mundane things, with the New York Times saying a sprinkler repairman's acetylene tank was sucked into one, causing a fire that burned down a building. In another case, a policeman's gun was sucked out of its holster and fired a shot when it hit the machine. MRI magnets are never off, even when the power is cut, because they draw power from supercooled helium, though one company is working on a new generation of scanners that only attract ferromagnetic metals like iron, nickel and cobalt. Observers say the biggest cause of problems is inattentive staff. Apparently these magnets attract morons as well. Update: The NYT's corrected the original story to clarify that MRIs "are cooled by liquid helium to eliminate electrical resistance so that their magnetic fields persist indefinitely, not powered by liquid helium." The second error was my own: the company is indeed working on detectors that are only sensitive to ferromagnetic metals.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
No Subject Given
Wouldn't have guessed. Woulda figured it was off when not in use...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
CERN and magnets
The solution was to build a bunch of titanium (non-magnetic) tools, which was very, very hard and expensive to machine at the time. So CERN engineered a new way of machining titanum, which has since lead to machined titanium things being relatively cheaply available to consumers (watches, rings, etc.).
Chris.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in thread ]
No Subject Given
Boy the idea that a small sliver of metal in their body blinded a patient gives me pause about having an MRI. A metal shaving penetrated one of my eyes when I was younger, and doctors said it was best not to try to remove it. Hadn't thought before now that it might blind me later during a medical test. Yeesh.
Hopefully T ray technology will advance sooner than later and help replace these useful yet occasionally dangerous MRI systems.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Corrections
Correction: the article says the magnets, which are superconductors, will stop being so strong once the helium is drained. It does take a few minutes to release the helium, and a sudden release can cause problems also, e.g. the clinic whose roof blew off when supercold helium blasted into the atmosphere.
"though one company is working on a new generation of scanners that only attract ferromagnetic metals like iron, nickel and cobalt."
When you say "scanner", I assume you mean the walk-through scanners at the entrance to the clinic which detect ferromagnetic metals. You can't make MRI magnets that "only attract ferromagnetic metals".
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in thread ]
No Subject Given
I doubted one of the stories about how strong the magnet is, boy was I surprised when she told me.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Sign in the Medical Imaging and Diagnostics Room
[ link to this | view in thread ]
cost of machines
[ link to this | view in thread ]