Thanks to a SMRT colleague, we are able to provide the high-resolution videos demonstrating the translational effects of an MRI unit's mangetic field. These missile effect demonstrations help to show the profound power of these events.
First, a technical note. These files are VERY large (38 and 52 megs). If you are viewing this page with anything slower than a DSL or cable connection, you may be very, very old before these files finish downloading.
Second, a mandatory safety note. These videos were carefully staged with an intimate knowledge of the spatial gradient and attractive forces for this specific magnet. You should not infer anything from these videos about the relative safety of ferromagnetic objects in proximity to your magnet! No ferromagnetic objects should be brought into magnet rooms. Today there are MR Safe or MR Conditional alternatives for virtually everything.
Finally, another technical note. Our website has limits on the amount of data that can be downloaded in any given month. We don't anticipate hitting that limit, but these files are so large that it is a possibility. We may have to temporarily sever the links to the files below if we approach those limits. If you try and download the file and it doesn't work, send me an email (address at the foot of this page) after the first of the month and I'll make sure that the links are reinstated.
Click on the link to view (at which point you'll have the option to save) or right-click (Mac users, option-click) to save directly (faster)
Additionally, there have been recent (substantiated) accounts of catastrophic magnet breaches causing significant damage to magnet and building (and running the risk of severe patient / staff injury). Though we don't have videos of the recent events, we do have a video of a magnet which exploded, outdoors, during a de-installation. The MRI in the video linked below had significantly less than a fully cryogenic load at the time of the explosion. Should a filled magent fail similarly inside a MRI suite without pressure-relief systems in place, the damage would be significant! All superconducting MRI sites should review existing magnet room design and construction agains their vendors' current pressure-relief and exhaust requirements.
