Even if a ferrous-metal object is not pulled from the body at a high rate of speed, I imagine it might be given to high-speed oscillations/vibrations and/or some type of heating; either of which would play hell with the surrounding tissue.
I invite correction, but it is my belief that any implant of ferrous metal must be removed prior to an MRI.
Hi Petronski-- we're on the same page here. Both in the sense of the ferrous metals in the body/MRI and Terri's situation.
What I was trying to say (not very well) was that while O.O. suggested ferrous metal embedded in the bone would not come flying out of the body when the MRI magnet is activated, I believe it could cause the part of the body attached to the metal to go slamming into the MRI machine. For example, if the titanium plate in my neck were made of a ferrous metal, when the MRI was activated, the plate probably would not be pulled from my body. But the metal plate would be attracted to the machine, and propel my neck and head to the machine at a very high rate of speed. Most like resulting in a severe head trauma.
So do we know if her implants/electrodes are ferrous or non-ferrous in nature? And even if non-ferrous, they can impact on the image quality. (I think it was referred to as 'artifact'). If the implants/electodes can be removed prior to an MRI, they should be. Even a PET scan or a more recent CT would be of value. IMHO