A ferromagnetic object taken into the MRI magnet’s stray field can be pulled into the magnet’s core at high speed, causing serious injury, damage and downtime. This phenomenon is known as the “projectile effect”. Serious incidents involving the “projectile effect” have been reported by numerous medical institutions. Many incidents have been documented involving such objects as gas cylinders, chairs, respirators, IV poles and smaller objects. Such occurrences can result in the loss of imaging time due to repairs, and/or injury to patients or staff.

Click here for links to projectile effect incidents

A study in the US has suggested that on average an incident occurs in every 100 to 1000 scans, equivalent to each MRI facility having 17 incidents per year and one serious incident every 3 years. The same paper reports that 52% of the 46 medical institutions involved in the study have reported serious incidents of this nature. To read the study click here.

The implications of a projectile incident can be injury to patients or staff, damage to equipment and facilities and imaging downtime. In addition to the safety considerations such incidents have financial implications to the hospital or imaging centre in terms of repairs to MRI system, loss of imaging time and in cases of injury litigation.

FerroGuard^® is a passive, ferrous metal detector system, which has been developed specifically to improve safety in an MRI facility. With a system installed and operated correctly it could significantly decrease the chances of a projectile effect incident.

FerroGuard^® is intended as an ancillary screening device and is not to be used as a replacement for traditional safety programmes, training, and primary screening methods. In addition to increasing safety levels, the FerroGuard^® alarm system is intended to heighten safety awareness of the risk of projectile effect incidents.

Links to MRI safety information