A 61-year-old man died after being pulled into an MRI machine by its magnetic force while wearing a heavy metal chain around his neck at a clinic in New York, according to police and media reports.
Keith McAllister was accompanying his wife, Adrienne Jones-McAllister, to the Nassau Open MRI clinic in Westbury, Long Island, on 16 July. She was undergoing a knee scan when she called out for his help. The technician allowed him to enter the room despite him wearing a nearly 20lb (9kg) weight-training chain.
Police said McAllister was sucked into the machine by its potent magnetic force, suffering a medical episode. He was taken to hospital in critical condition and died the following day. His wife said he had several heart attacks after the incident.
Adrienne told local news outlet News 12 that she had previously visited the clinic with her husband, who had worn the chain before and discussed it with staff. A GoFundMe campaign claimed McAllister was attached to the machine for almost an hour before the chain could be removed.
The US Food and Drug Administration warns that MRI machines create a strong static magnetic field that can turn metal objects into projectiles. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering notes that the magnets are powerful enough to fling a wheelchair across a room.
