Saturday, April 4, 2009

Duck - It Is A Sandbag - Flying In The MRI Room

Duck! Watch out for that flying sandbag in the MRI room. It turns out some sandbags contain metal, and they can go flying near an MRI maching, reports this FDA Medical Device Safety report, "Danger: "Sandbag" in the MRI Room." According to the article, "a patient underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) while she had a sandbag on her groin to help facilitate hemostasis after a procedure that involved femoral artery puncture. The staff assumed that the bag contained only sand. As the study began, the sandbag was pulled into the MRI coil, damaging the system. Fortunately, the patient wasn’t injured, according to the report." Bottomline, the unlabeled sandbag was found to contain ferromagnetic iron shavings and pellets. This sandbag, originally purchased for use in the hospital’s physical therapy department, shouldn’t have been brought into the MRI room. Additional MRI Safety Resources:

  1. Kanal E, Barkovich AJ, Bell C, et al. ACR guidance document for safe MR practices: 2007. AJR AM J Roentgenol. 2007;188(6): 1447-1474
  2. Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff: Establishing Safety and Compatibility of Passive Implants in the Magnetic Resonance (MR) Environment. August 21, 2008

Related Posts: FDA Warns - Avoid Burning - MRI and Drug Patch Interaction Are You Safe In An MRI Machine? 

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