Question

If person is carrying metallic plates in the joints and he needs a scan for diagnostic purpose, which type of scan is preferred and why ?

Answer 1

This is a sensible question, but let me reassure you that the only type of scan that's potentially unsafe in the presence of metal — whether it's an implant inside the body, say, or a piece of jewellery — is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

And even then the safety of the scan depends on the type of metal.

The problem is that MRI immerses the patient in a strong magnetic field, and so metals that are attracted to magnets (such as iron and steel) must be kept away from the scanner.

Failure to do so can be very dangerous, even fatal.

In one recorded case, a patient was killed by a vacuum cleaner that had been left in a corner in the MRI room.