leVieux
Member
As a teacher of brain & spine diagnosis to young physicians and as a clinical physician on the faculty of a large urban trauma center, I and colleagues are often faced with the question of whether a projectile contains ferrous metal; if so, would it be safe to place a person with that projectile into a high-field MRI unit, say of a nominal 3-Tesla field strength.
We know about waterfowl shot and hunting arrows, both of which are fairly easily recognizable on X-rays. We have also heard all sorts of stories about foreign bullets containing Iron. That said, our section, with almost 100 years combined in this field, have never actually seen an Iron-containing bullet.
I am asking whether anyone on board actually has an Iron-containing bullet; and, if so, how common is it to encounter them. Also, not cartridge cases, just bullets. We are aware of the use of Iron-containing & steel cases.
We are faced with making important health care decisions on behalf of seriously injured folks, many innocent victims or bystanders, who have been shot, mostly with common caliber handguns or rifles.
This post is an attempt to discern what this level of risk really is. We are forced to make potentially dangerous decisions all of the time, and realize that the RELATIVE dangers of our choices are what is important.
So, please tell me if anyone actually HAS one or more of those "mythical" Iron-containing bullets. No need to melt one, just test with a magnet, please, and post here.
Please, no "anecdotes"; we have zillions of "My brother's buddy had some back in '78" stories.
Thanks to all,
leVieux
New Orleans
We know about waterfowl shot and hunting arrows, both of which are fairly easily recognizable on X-rays. We have also heard all sorts of stories about foreign bullets containing Iron. That said, our section, with almost 100 years combined in this field, have never actually seen an Iron-containing bullet.
I am asking whether anyone on board actually has an Iron-containing bullet; and, if so, how common is it to encounter them. Also, not cartridge cases, just bullets. We are aware of the use of Iron-containing & steel cases.
We are faced with making important health care decisions on behalf of seriously injured folks, many innocent victims or bystanders, who have been shot, mostly with common caliber handguns or rifles.
This post is an attempt to discern what this level of risk really is. We are forced to make potentially dangerous decisions all of the time, and realize that the RELATIVE dangers of our choices are what is important.
So, please tell me if anyone actually HAS one or more of those "mythical" Iron-containing bullets. No need to melt one, just test with a magnet, please, and post here.
Please, no "anecdotes"; we have zillions of "My brother's buddy had some back in '78" stories.
Thanks to all,
leVieux
New Orleans
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