I really appreciate this first hand account. I’m glad she’s okay, and that she didn’t have to get either of her magnets removed.
I thought this was interesting
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/cmra/2019/9542085/#conclusion
2 Likes
Got another one
3 Likes
This gives more ease of mind since I’ll likely need a bunch of medical imaging by the end of the year (Although not sure if MRI)
Out of curiosity, does anyone thing there would be a difference in reactivity /pain depending on the type/ design of magnet?
Axially vs diametrically magnetized… and if they are cylindrical or circular (since i remember they told me one is for lifting, the other for sensing… so I remember
I will be jumped on here if I am wrong, so don’t trust this as accurate.
I thought implants were ok for MRI up to about 3.5 (and likely more but that was the test limit undertaken) but magnets were not ok at all???
2 Likes
Nope, you’re right:
Buuut, it’s been done
2 Likes
Here’s my thought process:
RFID-style implant is almost certainly fine for any MRI.
Magnets are a no-no, BUT: If you somehow were shoved in a less powerful MRI machine while unconscious (highly unlikely) you’d prooooobably be fine. Sore, but fine.
2 Likes
My understanding is that it is fine to do (in machines up to 3T) and you’ll experience. some pain, bruising, etc…
But that’s not the same as to be given an okay by DangerThingies LLC, and when something does go wrong, everyone point at the owner and the entire hospital & their pack of rabbit lawyers jumps on it because they decided to shut down the MRI & take it apart for diagnostics.
There are many people who safely went inside an MRI with them, but I won’t expect anyone to give a trust me bro guarantee. Because it only takes one person inside an MRI who’s magnets migrated so far they would get pulled out by the next paperclip to land yourself in hot water.
1 Like
The key point here is “when something does go wrong” because there is no rule when it comes to safety of magnets in an MRI machine. It’s a bit like playing Russian Roulette here… you have so many variables like the strength of the field (T), the shape of the field (related to construction / make / model), the position you’re in, the position the magnet is in, etc. that what might be “just a bit of discomfort” for a few people could mean extreme heat and / or violent movement for another. Our official stance here is that it is not safe to take a magnet into an MRI machine what so ever.
Even our implants are not “MR Safe”, they are “MR Conditional”, meaning the testing we did by a legitimate testing company for a not insignificant amount of money (mri - VivoKey Technologies) said they could not guarantee the safety of our implants inside an MRI machine, and that while their testing revealed no significant heating or movement, the variables mentioned above could still conspire to cause harm to patients. This is why the conditions of going through an MR procedure with an implant are to monitor the patient and immediately stop the procedure if the patient notices any discomfort at all.
Granted, this is standard practice for any MR procedure - monitor the patient, stop if any discomfort, etc. however it does omit the possibility of putting an unconscious patient through the procedure because they cannot be properly monitored. A device that is tested “MR Safe” does not have this monitoring requirement. That is the difference and the acknowledgement that all of the variables listed above cannot be completely accounted for through testing alone.
5 Likes