In an unusual incident, a woman in the United States was shot in her backside after she took a loaded gun into an MRI (magnetic resonance imagining) machine during a doctor's visit back in June. According to the US Food and Drug Administration, the 57-year-old, whose identity hasn't been revealed, had a handgun concealed on her person as she was slid into the MRI machine. However, when the machine's powerful magnets were engaged, the metal trigger of the handgun tripped and the firearm discharged.
"It was reported that a patient was brought into the magnet room with a concealed ferrous handgun. In the process of entering the bore, the handgun was attracted to the magnet and fired a single round. The patient received a gunshot wound in the right buttock area," the FDA's record read.
The woman was examined by a physician at the hospital who described the entry and exit holes as very small and superficial, only penetrating subcutaneous tissue. After the incident, the patient was hospitalised and her wounds were treated. "She went on to make a full recovery," the report noted.
It is unclear how the woman was able to bring a weapon into the MRI room. "The site reported that prior to the exam the patient had undergone a standard screening procedure for ferrous objects, which includes weapons specifically, and answered no to all screening questions," the FDA data read.
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MRI machines use magnetic fields generated by extremely powerful magnets to create images of the inside of a human body. Their magnets are so powerful that patients are required to remove all metal from their bodies. Additionally, every item entering the machine rooms is carefully monitored to keep ordinary objects from becoming dangerous projectiles.
However, despite precautions, accidents caused by MRI machines are not rare. According to the New York Post, in October, a nurse at a US hospital suffered crushing injuries after she became trapped between an MRI and a hospital bed. In January, a Brazilian lawyer was also killed after a handgun he was carrying in his waistband ripped from his pants and discharged into his stomach.
