Fact check: Post Title: TIL in 2001 a 6-year-old boy died during an MRI exam when the machine's magnetic field jerked a metal oxygen tank across the room, fracturing his skull and injuring his brain. The child was under sedation at the time of the accident. Comment Chain: 1. I work in MRI and this is brought up as an example in safety training pretty much every time we go. 2. For some more context the child was under sedation and had low sats so the dr that was with him had asked for oxygen to be given. There was a problem with the oxygen line that was being piped into the room and the two MRI techs left to check the reason. At the same time a non mri trained nurse had returned to the MRI department to grab something that she had forgotten when she was last there with a patient. She heard the Dr calling for O2 and handed him a non MRI conditional oxygen bottle that was in the department. As soon as it went into the magnetic field it got pulled into the MRI bore and fractured the kids skull. Multiple failures all the way through. The biggest in my oppinion being lack of MRI trained staff and people being able to gain entry to the MRI controlled area. There have been BIG crackdowns on these since but as is always the case it takes someone being injured or killed before change is made. Original Reddit link: https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/s/WtYni1WzK5

1. Summary of the results

The tragic incident described in the original statement is fully verified by multiple sources. In 2001, 6-year-old Michael Colombini died at Westchester Medical Center when a metal oxygen tank was pulled into the MRI machine's magnetic field, causing fatal head trauma while he was under sedation ^{[1] [2]}. The magnetic force involved was extremely powerful - approximately 30,000 times stronger than Earth's magnetic field ^[1].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial pieces of context are worth noting:

• The incident occurred amid multiple systematic failures, including:
• Problems with the oxygen line being piped into the room
• Presence of non-MRI trained staff in the controlled area
• Improper storage/access to non-MRI-safe equipment ^[3]
• MRI procedures are generally very safe when proper protocols are followed, with 8-10 million procedures performed annually in the US ^[1]
• The hospital took full responsibility for the incident and initiated an internal investigation ^[1]
• This case has become a standard example in MRI safety training, leading to significant safety protocol improvements ^[3]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement, while factually accurate, omits several important contextual elements:

• It doesn't mention that this was an isolated incident in the context of millions of safe MRI procedures performed annually ^[1]
• It fails to note that the incident led to substantial safety improvements in MRI facilities, including:
• Stricter policies regarding ferromagnetic objects
• Enhanced staff training requirements
• Improved access control to MRI areas ^[3]
• The statement doesn't acknowledge that Westchester Medical Center accepted responsibility and took corrective actions ^[1]

This case is often cited by medical safety advocates and training organizations to emphasize the importance of proper MRI safety protocols, while hospital administrators and medical device manufacturers have used it to justify investments in safety equipment and procedures.