A man remains hospitalized in New York after he was pulled into an MRI machine because he walked into the exam room wearing a large chain necklace, police said.
The 61-year-old had entered an MRI room while a scan was underway Wednesday afternoon at Nassau Open MRI. The machine's magnetic force drew him in by his metallic necklace, according to the Nassau County Police Department.
Police said this "resulted in a medical episode" that left the man hospitalized in critical condition. Authorities did not release his name and did not have an update on his condition on Friday.
A person who answered the phone at Nassau Open MRI on Long Island declined to comment Friday.
MRI machines "employ a strong magnetic field" that "exerts very powerful forces on objects of iron, some steels, and other magnetizable objects," according to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, which says the units are "strong enough to fling a wheelchair across the room."
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