One woman had a bit of a shock during her MR scan (Picture: Getty Images / iStockphoto)
If you’ve ever had an MRI scan, you’ve probably worried that your nightmares could come true.
Left an earring in? Had a metal pin put through a broken bone and completely forgotten? It’s understandable – we’ve all heard the horror stories.
But one woman had a bit of a shock – to the tune of a loud blast – when she had her scan.
The 57-year-old from Wisconsin, from the US, took a loaded firearm into the machine in June which was then attracted to the magnet when it was switched on.
She was then shot in the bum as a result, records from the Food and Drug Administration show.
A Use of Device Problem report submitted by the woman’s insurance company to the FDA in July read: ‘It was reported that a patient was brought into the magnet room with a concealed ferrous handgun.
‘In the process of entering the bore, the handgun was attracted to the magnet and fired a single round. The patient received a gunshot wound in the right buttock area.
It is unclear how the woman managed to bring the gun into the scanner as she underwent routine checks (Picture: Getty Images / Tetra Images RF)
‘The patient was examined by a physician at the site who described the entry and exit holes as very small and superficial, only penetrating subcutaneous tissue.’
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It is unclear how the woman managed to bring the gun into the scanner, as she had a routine screening for metal objects and confirmed she had nothing of the kind on her.
She was taken to hospital after the incident and later reported healing well, the record added.
According to the NHS, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a type of scan that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body.
The MRI scanner is a large tube that contains powerful magnets, which you lie inside during the scan.
As a result patients are required to remove all metal from their bodies, and everything entering the room is carefully monitored, as otherwise objects could be attracted to the giant magnet.
An MRI scan can be used to examine almost any part of the body, including the brain, bones, joints and internal organs. The results can help diagnose conditions and plan treatments.
Despite precautions injuries can still occur around MRI machines. Just two months ago a nurse at a hospital in San Francisco suffered crushing injuries after she became trapped between a scanner and a hospital bed dragged towards the machine.
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