Man dies after being sucked into MRI machine by his own metal necklace

A man who was violently sucked into an MRI machine by a metal chain around his neck has died, police in New York said.

The man was wearing a large metallic chain around his neck, which caused him to be drawn into the machine, the Nassau County Police Department said in a news release. The incident took place at the Nassau Open MRI medical facility in the village of Westbury on the North Shore of Long Island.

Police responded to the facility just after 4:30 p.m. on July 16. At the scene, witnesses told officers a 61-year-old man “entered an unauthorized M.R.I. room while the scan was in progress,” police said.

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He was transported to a local hospital where he was initially listed in critical condition. He died at the hospital on July 17 at 2:36 p.m., police said.

Officials have not yet released the name of the man nor whether he was a visitor to the facility, a patient or if he worked there. Police did not elaborate on the type or extent of the man’s injuries.

Man drawn into MRI from ‘a large metallic chain around his neck’

According to police, the machine’s magnetic field immediately attracted “a large metallic chain” the victim wore, which quickly pulled him into the machine and “resulted in a medical episode.”

The investigation into the incident is ongoing, police said.

USA TODAY contacted Nassau Open MRI on July 18 but has not received a response.

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MRI risks may include ‘injuries from projectiles’

Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is a non-invasive 3D imaging technology used to examine patients’ organs, tissues and skeletal system for diagnostic purposes, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Adverse events from MRI scans “are rare,” according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates MRI equipment.

Millions of MRI scans are performed across the nation every year, the FDA wrote on its website. The agency said it receives around 300 incident reports annually involving MRI scanners and coils from manufacturers, distributors, user facilities and patients.

Most of the reports, according to the FDA, include burns, as well as injuries from “projectile events” (objects being drawn toward the MRI scanner). High-powered magnets in the machine quickly draw items, especially metal, into the machine’s chamber.

“The strong magnetic field can attract metallic objects, potentially causing them to become projectiles and injure patients,” the FDA’s website reads.

The magnetic force “is strong enough to fling a wheelchair across a room,” according to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. “Patients should notify their physicians of any form of medical or implant prior to an MR scan.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man dies after being pulled into MRI machine by his metal necklace