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The hospital/clinic will ask a series of questions that are risk factors for having metal in your body. Here is a typical form (no association) [pdf]: http://ra

The hospital/clinic will ask a series of questions that are risk factors for having metal in your body. Here is a typical form (no association) [pdf]: http://radiology.ucla.edu/workfiles/referralforms/MRI-safety-screening-questionnaire-outpatient.pdf http://radiology.ucla.edu/workfiles/referralforms/MRI-safety... If the patient isn't able to answer or is unsure it gets a little complicated based on the risk factors, how soon the image is needed, etc.. Sometimes screening imaging of the orbits (eyes) is done if there is a history of metal working or a CT head/orbits (bullet fragments in brain = no bueno), chest X-ray if you can't get documentation on a pacemaker, and so on.

Houshalter 9y ago
That seems a lot less efficient than a metal detector. Perhaps they just aren't sensitive enough?
- Herodotus38 9y ago
  While I don't know enough about metal detectors to know how sensitive they are, I suspect someone has looked into it because there would be a lot of money to be made/saved if you could, for example, use a detector to confidently rule out metal fragments in the eyes. Bear in mind these fragments are <1 mm, and if you are wrong and the powerful magnet moves it even a couple mm you could blind a person or worse!
- Sleeep 9y ago
  Metal detectors don't (typically) detect body jewelery so I don't think they are very useful in a clinical setting since they'd have to detect that sort of thing. Source: I have a bunch of body jewelery and been through a bunch of metal detectors and never set any off.
  - Houshalter 9y ago
    Well yes the ones used in security checkpoints are probably only set to detect big pieces of metal like guns and knives. It's a pain if they go off every time someone walks through with an earring or a metal button or zipper. But people do use metal detectors to reliably find bottle caps, jewelry, coins, etc, under several inches of sand and soil.

Houshalter 9y ago

That seems a lot less efficient than a metal detector. Perhaps they just aren't sensitive enough?

Herodotus38 9y ago
While I don't know enough about metal detectors to know how sensitive they are, I suspect someone has looked into it because there would be a lot of money to be made/saved if you could, for example, use a detector to confidently rule out metal fragments in the eyes. Bear in mind these fragments are <1 mm, and if you are wrong and the powerful magnet moves it even a couple mm you could blind a person or worse!
Sleeep 9y ago
Metal detectors don't (typically) detect body jewelery so I don't think they are very useful in a clinical setting since they'd have to detect that sort of thing. Source: I have a bunch of body jewelery and been through a bunch of metal detectors and never set any off.
- Houshalter 9y ago
  Well yes the ones used in security checkpoints are probably only set to detect big pieces of metal like guns and knives. It's a pain if they go off every time someone walks through with an earring or a metal button or zipper. But people do use metal detectors to reliably find bottle caps, jewelry, coins, etc, under several inches of sand and soil.