You can start reading the blog posts (a little way below) or click immediately below for an introduction to help you find what you came here for…
Gurney Crashes MRI, Patient Injured, Hospital Fined $50K
January 24th, 2010It is the stuff of fabled oral-histories, often dismissed as MRI urban-legend. The patient is wheeled into the MRI room on a gurney that goes flying toward the scanner. “How on Earth could these accidents happen when we know about these risks,” the skeptics question? Almost never does more than a single fragment of information surface about these sorts of accidents and, without verification, nearly all accounts can be erroneously written-off as fiction. Or, that was until enough pieces fell into place to conclusively document a recent episode… Click Here To Read More About MRI Gurney Accidents…
Fear and Clothing In MRI-Land: An MRI Safety Tale
January 21st, 2010Near the end of last year I posted an article from an RSNA ‘tip of the day’ regarding external fixation, halo, hardware and ferromagnetic risks. Now, in the first few weeks of 2010 we learn of new MRI safety risks from orthopedic hardware that may be more common than halo systems, scoliosis body braces.
External fixation and braces are typically very carefully screened for contraindication for MRI examination, but what may not be as frequently screened is the clothing underneath. Click Here For The Rest Of The Story…
Pent-Up MRI Equipment Demand To Break In 2010?
January 18th, 2010In the radiology community, it’s widely known… the economic downturn has eviscerated the equipment manufacturers’ sales of high-dollar imaging tools. The sour economy, coupled with the drastic cuts in MRI and CT reimbursements, in particular, have hit those two modalities hardest. Eighteen months into this economic malaise, are there signs of recovery? Apparently GE Healthcare thinks so…
Is GE Preparing For The MRI Rebound?
ThermaCare HeatWrap Dangerous In MRI?
January 8th, 2010Yesterday I was provided a copy of an anonymized MRI accident / incident report which described how an MRI patient wearing a ThermaCare HeatWrap (something of a self-warming patch for muscle aches) had the wrap pulled off of them by the magnetic attraction of the MRI.
ThermaCare HeatWrap Products Contain Iron And May Be Drawn Into MRI Scanners
Click To Read More About This Incident And How To Prevent Similar Accidents From Occurring…
2009 – The MRI Safety Year That Wasn’t
January 6th, 2010But 2010 holds the promise of reversing course.
Throughout 2009, we saw tantalizing glimpses of potential MRI safety improvements, which repeatedly escaped becoming real. Here are my ‘Top 3′ near-miss opportunities of 2009 to substantially reshape MR safety…
RSNA 2009 Epilogue
December 9th, 2009Confession time: I have a love-hate relationship with RSNA. I love going, attending educational sessions (the handful that interest me and that my brain can wrap around) and cruising the technical exhibits to see what’s new and interesting. My experiences as an exhibitor, well, they were universally disappointing… until this year that is…
Can We Still Call Them ‘Never Events’ When Accidents Happen So Frequently In MRI?
December 7th, 2009This post attempts to draw-together two recent threads from here on the MRI Metal Detector blog. First, there was a long-running question about the FDA and their online-accessible database of medical device accidents which, for months, appeared to be malfunctioning, and recently was repaired. Second, there was my post in which I identified 5 MRI ‘Never Events’ which, if industry standard procedures are followed, should never occur.
MRI ‘Never Event’ In Athens, Alabama
December 6th, 2009The Athens, Alabama, News Courier ran a story December 4th on their website about a 21-month boy who received a 3rd degree burn from an MRI. This hits square in the middle of the 5 MRI ‘never events’ that were enumerated a few months ago here on this blog.
RSNA / AAPM Identify Halo Ferromagnetic Risks
December 3rd, 2009In the Tuesday, December 1st, issue of the RSNA Daily Bulletin, the ‘Tip of the Day’ was provided by the American Association of Physics in Medicine. The tip identifies specific risks of ferromagnetic tools and hardware associated with orthopedic devices, such as ‘halo’ vests…
