MRI trauma
My husband got a routine MRI this week and reported considerable annoyance at the number of times he was forced to answer the same questions about whether he had any metal implants. I like this radiological imaging center, but they do indulge in some repetitive questioning. Before they even got a chance to pepper him with inquiries, they'd already made me answer the same questions at length when I called to make his appointment.Then a story like this comes along and makes you imagine how obsessed they must get with checking and re-checking and practically guarding the doors to make sure no one wanders in unawares. Those magnets are unbelievably strong.John Ringo wrote an entertaining novel called "Von Neuman's War" about a attack by alien bots bent on stripping metal out of people and machines. Earth's citizens had to get serious about tooth fillings, braces, and medical implants.
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8 comments:
Thankfully some metals are non-magnetic. I've got three 3 inch screws in my left hip and have had MRIs since then.
Yeah, dangerous stuff.
They would rather annoy you a hundred times than have one absented-minded person be hurt.
it's partly to evaluate the status of the patient. If I give the same answer every time, they can be more comfortable that they can rely on my answers. If I don't give the same answers, then that alerts them to both be concerned that I may not have given accurate info, and that i may be suffering from cognitive impairment (intoxication/brain injury/dementia/etc.) that they may need to assess on top of whatever I'm reporting
Yes, altered brain state is a concern no matter what you're treating. It's one of the first things you're supposed to assess.
Thankfully some metals are non-magnetic.
That isn't the only problem, depending on where the metals are installed. Metal conducts electricity, and waving a magnetic field across them--like with an MRI--generates an electric field in the metal, and that heats up the metal--not a lot, but some.
A person I follow on another board had a valve and section of aorta replaced; the valve has some nonmagnetic metal in it. Heart blood vessel stints also often have (nonmagnetic ) metal for the ribs or mesh. The particular valve the woman's surgeon chose for her valve replacement is rated at no more than a 2deg rise in temperature from an MRI, but even that bears watching, especially for those who are prone to clots to begin with.
Eric Hines
So it just has to be a metal that can conduct at least some electricity, not already magnetized.
A friend's father has a pacemaker--as do I--and needed an MRI. I figured he was just out of luck, but apparently there's a special kind that will work. All I've been able to find out out how it works is that the operators will be careful about how much energy to use; evidently they limit the scan time and perhaps acquire fewer cross-sections, which results in a less fine-grained image. A licensed pacemaker device rep has to be present, a big hassle.
Also, newer devices are said to be less of a problem. Mine operates so seldom that the battery already has lasted about 10 years, but it will have to be replaced in a year or two, at which point I guess I'll be getting the newfangled sort.
A family member worked around MRIs and such. Do NOT ask that person about the deputy, the duty weapon, and what it cost the hospital. (Retention holsters won't keep an MRI from sucking in your weapon, if you ever wondered.)
LittleRed1
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