According to Nassau County police, the incident occurred at an MRI center in Westbury, where the man was pulled into the machine by the magnetic pull of the machine while wearing a metallic necklace.
Since the unnamed 61-year-old man was not thought to have been allowed in the MRI room at the time of the incident, official reports have not explained why he was there.
A witness at the center, however, claimed that the man had disregarded orders to leave the MRI room after hearing a patient possibly a relative scream.
After being pulled into the MRI machine, police said the man had a “medical episode” and was treated at a nearby hospital.
According to a PIX11
He was last described as being in critical condition.
The risks of entering an MRI room without authorization have been explained by North Shore University Hospital staff, according to CBS News.
“The risks could be catastrophic, which is why we have all the safety precautions in place,” stated Dr. Payal Sud.
North Shore continued by explaining that patients must take off all electrical and metal items, including jewelry, before they can enter a machine.
“It would act like a torpedo trying to get into the middle of the center of the magnet,” said Charles Winterfeldt, the hospital’s director of imaging services, adding that they can also be hazardous for those in wheelchairs and those with oxygen tanks.
According to Sud
Several “strangulation injuries,” such as asphyxiation or cervical spinal injuries, could happen if the chain was “wrapped around the neck.”
The Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco provides an excellent explanation of the strength of the magnetic field inside the MRI system: “The static magnetic field of the MRI system is exceptionally strong.” The magnetic field produced by a 1.5 T magnet is about 21,000 times stronger than the earth’s natural field.
They go on to say that at a terminal velocity of 40 mph, even tiny metal objects, such as paper clips, can turn into projectiles.
But according to experts, injuries and fatalities associated with MRI machines are uncommon when an object, like jewelry, is involved, according to CBS News.
