[Vision2020] Do MRIs suck?

[Art Deco]

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/207390_mri11.html


Floor buffer pulled into MRI machine's magnets 
$200,000 damage at hospital, KIRO says

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

An expensive MRI machine at Virginia Mason Medical Center sustained at least $200,000 in damage when a metal floor buffer was mistakenly placed nearby and was sucked in by the machine's powerful magnets, a television station reported.

The accident happened Jan. 3 when a member of the housekeeping staff improperly took the buffer near the machine, despite a warning sign not to use metal objects near it, KIRO/7 reported last night.

Virginia Mason spokesmen did not respond to repeated requests for comment left last night with hospital switchboard operators.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines are sophisticated diagnostic tools used to provide detailed pictures of the body's interior.

The magnets used are so powerful it is not uncommon to hear of large pieces of equipment being pulled into the machines.

The hospital plans some staff retraining, KIRO reported.

© 1998-2005 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20050111/2787b891/attachment.htm