Never take a firearm near an MRI machine.

[Ricnzak]

I would like to see how much stress was placed on the safety during the discharge.

 

[Magnum]

As I tried to imagine how the weapon failed in a magnetic environment that was the only thing I could think of, and sure enough, the firing pin block safety was it. Obviously striker fire guns with that safety feature as well are more commonly used by the police than 1911's, so that is a pretty critical piece of information to be learned. Although, obviously guns are part of the broader picture that anything metal in that environment presents a hazard. It just works out that guns bring higher stakes to the situation than most other metal objects. As long as techs do their jobs properly and good signage and procedures are in place then incidents like that should be highly avoidable. This just gives more weight to the seriousness of that.

 

[Hookeye]

So how safe was the LE when he went to the proctologist ?

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

Where do I get me one of them there Colt 1991 guns at?

 

[SmileDocHill]

That is an interesting article. I expected some news-y article with few details and even fewer facts, but that was a detailed read. Good post!

The article is from 2002 so if it was going to hit the media circuit it would have by now.

great read!

 

[Hookeye]

Where do I get me one of them there Colt 1991 guns at?

Colt 1991® Series

 

[scottka]

The article is from 2002 so if it was going to hit the media circuit it would have by now.

great read!

Yeah, I saw the date when I clicked on the link, but I was expecting a news link.

To those that are saying you were warned many times before entering the MRI room... Were any of these occasions before 2002? Just curious.

 

[blamecharles]

Yeah, I saw the date when I clicked on the link, but I was expecting a news link.

To those that are saying you were warned many times before entering the MRI room... Were any of these occasions before 2002? Just curious.

I had multiple done between 97-99 and was for to remove piercings and asked several times about metal shavings that I may have had.

 

[theweakerbrother]

Too bad he didn't have a Glock 7, huh?

It's a porcelain gun made in Germany. Dosen't show up on your airport X-ray machines, here, and it cost more than you make in a month.

 

[jwh20]

You should not take ANY magnetic metal into the room where the MRI machine is. There is a superconducting electromagnet that generate an M-field of strength of 1 Tesla or more.

By contract, the earth's M-field is something like 30 uT (that's millionths of a Tesla)

The field is generated ALL the time, whether the MRI machine is powered up or not and there is no way to turn it off. It's a superconducting magnet cooled with liquid Helium. They start an electric current flowing when they install the machine and it goes on FOREVER! That's the beauty of a superconductor, it's even better than the Energizer Bunny.

Even small metallic objects will accelerate into the center of the device to extreme speeds. If you are between the object and the field, you WILL be injured.

A handgun, even a polymer framed one has plenty of ferrous (i.e. iron) metal in it. The story is entirely plausible. Thankfully nobody was injured.

 

[usaf64]

People have been killed in MRI machines when the magnet was powered up and a steel object was drawn into the magnet. The magnetic field is unbelievable.

Glad no one was injured and that something was learned. I think the MRI tech goofed on this one. He won't do it again . . .

I remember one case where someone placed a used oxygen tank inside the MRI room. I guess the person was not aware of the consequences of such an act. Anyhow, when the MRI machine was activated, the tank slammed into the patient and he/she was killed.

It would be in your own best interests to look around the room before you begin, if you ever need an MRI.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

You should not take ANY magnetic metal into the room where the MRI machine is. There is a superconducting electromagnet that generate an M-field of strength of 1 Tesla or more.

By contract, the earth's M-field is something like 30 uT (that's millionths of a Tesla)

The field is generated ALL the time, whether the MRI machine is powered up or not and there is no way to turn it off. It's a superconducting magnet cooled with liquid Helium. They start an electric current flowing when they install the machine and it goes on FOREVER! That's the beauty of a superconductor, it's even better than the Energizer Bunny.

Even small metallic objects will accelerate into the center of the device to extreme speeds. If you are between the object and the field, you WILL be injured.

A handgun, even a polymer framed one has plenty of ferrous (i.e. iron) metal in it. The story is entirely plausible. Thankfully nobody was injured.

 

[Legba]

I just had a MRI done Tuesday. I had to take off my boots and coat but was allowed to wear my jeans and T shirt. All my pockets had to be empty. My girl had to leave her purse and jacket in the storage locker before she could enter the room. As I was positioning my self on the table the techs ID badge slammed up against the machine and scared the crap out of me. I swear during one part of the scan I could feel it pulling my skin up on my face as it scanned my head. It was a loud 20 minutes.

 

[JoshuaW]

When my little sister had one done a few years ago, my mom forgot to take bobby pins out of her hair, and it pulled her hair straight up and towards the machine. To this day my dad says it was the funniest thing he has ever seen.

 

[Smokepole]

Hmmm, should I bring my metal gun near a machine that uses powerful magnets to produce a magnetic field?

Cop probably wasn't aware that the magnet is always on. Not just when they want to turn on the imaging process. And wasn't listening very closely when the tech told him to meet him.

 

[SilveradoII]

I work on MRI and Cat Scanners. The one in the article was a 1.5T. They now have some many times stronger than that. I forgot to take my pocket knife out on one trip in the room. When I bent over near the magnet my knife hit my ear on the way by Non ferrous metal such as aluminum doesn't get pulled by the magnet. It will however get hot enough to fry eggs on..

 

[bb37]

Non ferrous metal such as aluminum doesn't get pulled by the magnet. It will however get hot enough to fry eggs on.

The HVAC ductwork above the ceiling of an MRI room is usually aluminum.

 

[Excalibur]

I work on MRI and Cat Scanners. The one in the article was a 1.5T. They now have some many times stronger than that. I forgot to take my pocket knife out on one trip in the room. When I bent over near the magnet my knife hit my ear on the way by Non ferrous metal such as aluminum doesn't get pulled by the magnet. It will however get hot enough to fry eggs on..

So the stuff in movies is true about metal things just flying towards the MRI when turned on

 

[mrjarrell]

So the stuff in movies is true about metal things just flying towards the MRI when turned on

Yep.

http://youtu.be/plvIEf7JsKo

Saw one a few years ago, (can't seem to find it now) of a floor buffer being sucked in. It was ugly.

 

[hochwald]

Now California has another reason to keep certain handguns off their DoJ list, "does not pass MRI safety test"