Posted on 07/11/2008 4:23:55 AM PDT by marktwain
An incident recently occurred at an outpatient imaging center in western New York State, in which a firearm spontaneously discharged in a 1.5-T MR imaging environment with active shielding. To our knowledge, this is the first documented case of such an occurrence.
------cut---------
An off-duty police officer went to an outpatient imaging center (not affiliated with our institution) in western New York State to have an MR imaging examination. The facility housed a 1.5-T MR unit (Signa; General Electric Medical Systems, Milwaukee, WI) with active shielding. The officer was carrying a model 1991 A-1 compact.45 caliber semiautomatic pistol (Colt's Manufacturing, Hartford, CT).
The officer notified the technologist that he was carrying the weapon before entering the MR dressing room. The technologist told the officer to take the gun with him. The technologist intended to meet the officer in the MR patient waiting area before the examination and secure the weapon in that room, where he felt it would be safe. However, the officer apparently misunderstood and took the gun into the MR suite. The technologist was entering the officer's personal data into the computer and did not see him entering the MR suite.
Once the officer was inside the MR suite, the gun was pulled from his hand as he attempted to place the gun on top of a cabinet 3 ft (0.9 m) away from the magnet bore. The gun was immediately pulled into the bore, where it struck the left side and spontaneously discharged a round into the wall of the room at the rear of the magnet. Fortunately, no one was injured.
---------cut----------
The weapon's thumb safety was reportedly engaged when the gun discharged.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajronline.org ...
Sh!t happens.....
A number of years ago a not-so-bright patient transporter brought a patient on a stretcher into the MRI suite, oxygen tank in tow. The tank went flying missing the patient’s head by millimeters, crashing into the magnet, detroying the plastic housing and severing some electrical connections. It cost a pretty penny to repair, and we were down for weeks.
strange ping
Sounds like the officer is not smart enough to carry a weapon.
Phew! Never would happen to me. I carry a Glock...nyuk,nyuk,nyuk. OK, an admittedly cheap shot at all you 1911 guys. Sorry.
Just out of curiosity, why aren’t there metal detectors set up near the entrances to these machines? Just as a precaution should someone forget.
Seems like a common sense measure to prevent such items from getting close enough to the magnetic field to be a threat.
Your hospital was lucky.
When you're not lucky ....
I went in for my first MRI, many years ago, having never heard of MRI before, wearing steel toed work boots. the technician told me to empty my pockets and pretty much did not ask me if I had any metal on me.
I went in feet first and of course the inevitable happened, as I approached the loop my feet shot up and locked to the roof of the MRI-
at that point the tech untied my shoes and my feet slipped out. he then spent quite a while removing my shoes from the MRI machine.
Years ago I worked in metal shops and that is a big concern. Seems people with metal splinters in their eyes make a big mess in there sometimes.
enjoy your big fat mostly plastic tinker toy.
I will continue to cherish my STEEL 1943 vintage Remington Rand 1911A1, my model 19 S&W, my 2 Ruger Vaqueros, my Colt Mustang, my 2 S&W vintage 1890’s break tops, my Ruger Redhawk, Ruger Mk II... and a plethora of cap and ball replicas and originals.
stupid idiiot cop and stupid idiot medical crew, any chance of residual magnetism would grab anything metallic, especially that close to the machine!
The 1991A1 is not a toy, it is a full size .45, almost identical to the 1911
My fathers 1940’s vintage 1911 was made by the Singer sewing machine company.
He was making reference to a Glock.
A 1911 should not fire unless the thumb safety is off and the grip safety depressed prior to squeezing the trigger. Unless the MRI unit released these safeties, or the gun was in an unsafe condition; either worn parts or kept unlocked with the hammer down on a chambered round, or a combination of both, I don’t see how this could happen.
Something similar happened at a hospital in Valhalla, NY (Westchester county) some years ago, but it didn't miss, killing the patient.
Mark
Seems like a common sense measure to prevent such items from getting close enough to the magnetic field to be a threat.
I believe that metal detectors work by using magnetic fields: These things put out such overwhelming fields, my guess is that it would be useless anywhere nearby. I've seen cases where the monitor screens of the office computers used by the staff were skewed, and this is a good distance from the imaging hardware and behind well shielded walls.
Mark
n 2001, Michael Colombini, 6, was killed while undergoing an MRI when an oxygen tank flew out of the hands of an anesthesiologist toward the machine, hitting him in the head.
In 2003, a New Mexico woman sued a Los Alamos hospital, claiming the magnetic pull of an MRI caused an oxygen tank to hit her in the back.
In 1992, a 74-year-old woman hemorrhaged and died after an aneurysm clip in her brain shifted while she was on a table preparing for an MRI.
from article:MRI Scanner Accidents on the Rise
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1057960&page=1
You probably know that a Singer-manufactured 1911 is worth a lot of money. Singer only made a few hundred 1911s.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.