Radiology nurse fired after neglecting patient in MRI machine

Anicka Slachta | | Radiology Business | Magnetic Resonance Imaging

A radiology nurse at Tartu University Hospital in Tartu, Estonia, was fired after a patient undergoing an MR exam after knee surgery was left inside the machine unattended for more than an hour.

The patient was reportedly recovering from surgery and was slated to be in the MRI bore for several minutes, ERR News, an English-language outlet in Estonia, wrote, but the patient got out of the machine themselves after more than 60 minutes had passed. They said they’d tried pressing a panic button within the machine, but nobody responded until they were calling for help from an adjoining dressing room.

According to the report, the attending nurse responsible for the accident had 15 years’ experience in the field. She neglected to turn the machine off at any point, so it was running for the full hour the patient was inside.

Read the report below:

Patient left inside MRI scanning machine for over an hour

""
Anicka Slachta

After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.

Related Content

PHOTO GALLERY: Medical imaging technology at RSNA 2024
Nearly $800,000 settlement offered to family of man who died during MRI exam
Key takeaways from RSNA 2024 for AI, CT, MRI and the radiology staffing shortage
Siemens Healthineers inks 10-year, $105M imaging value partnership with large medical center
CMS approves new MRI standards related to remote scanning
Radiologists are more accurate, confident when they know the full story

Around the web

Health Imaging
Nearly $800,000 settlement offered to family of man who died during MRI exam

The patient, who was being cared for in the ICU, was not accompanied or monitored by nursing staff during his exam, despite being sedated.

Cardiovascular Business
Global shortage of nuclear imaging isotopes may be over

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

Cardiovascular Business
‘A huge win’: CMS significantly increases Medicare payments for cardiac CT

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.