Can MRI and CT scans have effects on the human body?

[Jimmy Snyder]

Woman left in CT scan machine.
I had a similar experience. I was left in a CT scan machine for over 10 minutes once.

 

[Astronuc]

Quality control?

What the heck? It's only medicine.


Another example of the great medical care available in the US.

 

[Moonbear]

The scary part is at the end of the article, where a physician working there commented that it wasn't the first time a patient was forgotten after hours! Maybe it's time to fire some staff? Why is any patient being left entirely unattended during ANY part of the scan? There should be someone monitoring the whole time.

(I'm a little less clear on how she was locked IN, yet was able to unlock the door to let the police in??)

 

[Astronuc]

Most of my family works in the medical field.

You'd be surprised at what goes on. You'd be surprised how many surgeons go into the OR drunk or otherwise impaired.

 

[Kurdt]

And they say working near large magnetic fields is perfectly safe and has no effect on memory.

 

[BobG]

The scary part is at the end of the article, where a physician working there commented that it wasn't the first time a patient was forgotten after hours! Maybe it's time to fire some staff? Why is any patient being left entirely unattended during ANY part of the scan? There should be someone monitoring the whole time.

(I'm a little less clear on how she was locked IN, yet was able to unlock the door to let the police in??)

It's because the office wasn't equipped with http://www.funnyhub.com/videos/pages/blonde-star.html .

 

[Ivan Seeking]

And they say working near large magnetic fields is perfectly safe and has no effect on memory.

pssssst, that's MRI, not CT.

 

[Kurdt]

pssssst, that's MRI, not CT.

Damn. I knew they'd find me out sooner or later. The trouble is I can't read, or i'd have gotten the clue in the name.

 

[Gale]

I hate hospitals. I went to the emergency room on a stretcher last year cause of a possible back injury, and I had to be strapped down to that stupid board with the neck brace and everything. Then the doctor checked in on me told me I wasn't allowed to move, just in case, then ordered some tests and left. After laying around doing nothing for like 45 minutes, I was shuffled around to different parts of the hospital for x rays and a cat scan. The stupid attendents unstrapped me and told me to stand up and get in the various machines. I was like wtf, I'm not supposed to be moving I thought...

Oh and then, I was cold, and I had to ask 3 nurses for a blanket. 3! I wasn't allowed to move, and the blankets were just across the room. I could see them. And each nurse just walked away to do something else.

Anyway...
Sucks for that lady.

 

[Moonbear]

Most of my family works in the medical field.

You'd be surprised at what goes on. You'd be surprised how many surgeons go into the OR drunk or otherwise impaired.

That's really pathetic! Though, I've been told that the best people to be friends with are the anesthesiologists, because they know what goes on with all the surgeons, and can tell you which are the best to use.

And they say working near large magnetic fields is perfectly safe and has no effect on memory.

pssssst, that's MRI, not CT.

Interestingly, someone presented an article at yesterday's journal club about rat behavior in MRIs, and they were definitely NOT normal. The folks who do research with the MRIs have also reported some pretty severe vertigo when popping their head into assist a patient while it was running. In the rat study, there wasn't too much of an effect in the 4 tesla magnets, but the stronger magnets definitely caused behavioral changes consistent with effects on the vestibular system. Don't know if it affects memory, but the vestibular system is pretty dramatically affected.

 

[Evo]

Never go to a hospital alone! You must have someone you know with you. Sad, but true.

 

[Astronuc]

That's really pathetic! Though, I've been told that the best people to be friends with are the anesthesiologists, because they know what goes on with all the surgeons, and can tell you which are the best to use.

My mom went into hospital for tests. She indicated that there were certain surgeons she would not accept because she knew they had drinking problems or other personal problems that adversely affected their performance.

Interestingly, someone presented an article at yesterday's journal club about rat behavior in MRIs, and they were definitely NOT normal. The folks who do research with the MRIs have also reported some pretty severe vertigo when popping their head into assist a patient while it was running. In the rat study, there wasn't too much of an effect in the 4 tesla magnets, but the stronger magnets definitely caused behavioral changes consistent with effects on the vestibular system. Don't know if it affects memory, but the vestibular system is pretty dramatically affected.

I don't imagine they left the system running on that woman. I believe such systems are timed, but I certainly don't know in the specific case.

Never go to a hospital alone! You must have someone you know with you. Sad, but true.

That has been expressed by my family members and others I know in the medical field.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Interestingly, someone presented an article at yesterday's journal club about rat behavior in MRIs, and they were definitely NOT normal. The folks who do research with the MRIs have also reported some pretty severe vertigo when popping their head into assist a patient while it was running. In the rat study, there wasn't too much of an effect in the 4 tesla magnets, but the stronger magnets definitely caused behavioral changes consistent with effects on the vestibular system. Don't know if it affects memory, but the vestibular system is pretty dramatically affected.

I'm sure I've told this story before, but since it applies: We had an MRI tech [Jeanie, I think] who needed an MRI. So another tech did the scan while the patient coordinator watched the patient. The scan proceeded normally without interruptions. When they completed the scan and went into get Jeanie out of the scanner, she swore that she had been screaming to let her out the entire time, but beyond a doubt she had never said a word.

 

[mgb_phys]

A friend of mine worked on chemistry NMR instruments, with higher fields than medical MRI. He said that you could tase things if you moved your head under field when it was running, other people saw flashing lights or felt dizzy but it could psychosomatic.