According to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 2008 saw a 30% increase in the number of reported MRI accidents. In the four years following 2004, the FDA's MAUDE database catalogues a 270% increase in MRI accidents. But what may be even more troubling than the dramatic increase in reported accidents are the numbers that aren't included in the FDA's data.
The extreme power of the magnets used for MRI imaging (typically tens-of-thousands of times greater than our exposure to the Earth's own magnetic field) can readily 'pull' ferromagnetic materials to the scanner, sometimes with lethal results. These types of accidents, frequently referred to as 'projectile' or 'missile' accidents, are the most common MRI mishap and yet comprise a slim minority of the FDA's accident reports.
source: Medical News Today
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