Considerations when selecting an MRI Site - Full Service
Selecting an MRI Site: Issues that can affect your MRI Magnet - MRI Consultant Module #5
In the siting (actual physical placement) of your MRI Magnet for your MRI Imaging center, it is essential to understand that many factors can affect critical MRI image resolution, MRI performance factors, and MRI Image quality.
Magnetic field safety issues for patients, Families, Staff Members, and Visitors must be considered early in pre-planning the MRI Imaging Center Project.
Selecting the right MRI site requires careful consideration. Poor choices can disrupt MRI magnet performance, compromise diagnostic study quality, and drive up installation costs unnecessarily. To achieve optimal results, you must plan thoroughly and seek expert guidance.
You will want to start by looking at the ground-level placement of your MRI in your MRI Imaging Center, known as the “slab on grade” setting of your MRI. “Slab on Grade”' placement is preferred for your MRI Magnet in your MRI Imaging Center Project.
The last 1.5 Tesla MRI Magnet we placed for a client group weighed 11,800 pounds. A 3.0 Tesla MRI unit will weigh much more and impact site selection.
When selecting an MRI site, you will need to have compelling reasons for placing your MRI Magnet on the second floor or higher, and you will want to think very seriously about not putting your MRI on the upper building floors. In addition to possible structural loading costs and other buildout costs associated with the significant weight of the MRI unit and its placement on an upper building floor of your MRI Imaging Center Project, you also will need to be aware of and responsive to the magnetic field layout of your MRI Magnet, and the associated health restrictions associated with the 5 Gauss Field boundaries of your MRI Magnet.
Correctly positioning your MRI magnet within the imaging center presents a critical design and construction challenge. You must plan and position the MRI unit to ensure the 5 Gauss magnetic field remains fully contained within the exam room and does not extend beyond its boundaries.
Individuals with cardiac pacemakers, neurostimulators, and bio-stimulation devices can begin to experience the negative effect of the magnetic field on their medical devices. Under no circumstances should these individuals come into contact with or be subjected to an MRI Magnet with a 5 Gauss Field or higher.
In the Pre-planning of the preliminary and final MRI site plan for the installation of your MRI Magnet in your MRI Imaging Center, our consultants work closely with the Architect, MRI supplier, Vendor specialists, and their design team members to ensure a technical layout is designed and configured so that your MRI Technologist, other staff members, patients, and their families and site visitors, are in a safely designed MRI Imaging Center, with the MRI magnetic field of 5 Gauss and stronger, safely contained within the confines of the MRI Magnet room. If you site your MRI Magnet in your MRI Imaging Center, “Slab on grade” in a single-level building, any 5 Gauss Field bulge below your floor slab usually will not cause any problem (Need to review the volume of steel content below the floor). Any bulge above the ceiling will not present a problem. The MRI site planner (manufacturer, supplier, in conjunction with your architect/builder/remodeler and your OAC consultant ) will still need to review the MRI Magnet Room configuration to move your magnet placement within the room in a manner sufficient to ensure the 5 Gauss Field, is fully contained within all four walls of the Magnet Room. The final vendor design team plan may need to be revised several times to guarantee that the Magnet 5 G line is fully contained within the MRI Magnet room.
Your MRI Magnet Room location within your MRI Imaging Center will also need to be tested for EMI and electromagnetic Interference (#13 to follow); this will be tested by the specialty subcontractor constructing your MRI Magnet Room RF shield. First and foremost, you will also need to receive vibration/seismic testing before installing your MRI magnet. ( Vibration and Seismic Testing will follow in Module #6).
Depending on the location of your MRI Magnet, parking lot traffic, busy nearby roadways, and even proximity to some building elevators can all affect image quality and performance. These factors must be accounted for when pre-planning the site. Nearby commercial and industrial activity can also affect image quality.
Suppose you have any questions or concerns regarding the proper, safe, image resolution enhancing, and expense-minimizing siting of your MRI Magnet in your MRI Imaging Center. In that case, we are here to assist you in working to make sure your MRI siting is planned and executed successfully. We would enjoy making sure this goes very well on your behalf.
In this Consultation and Assistance Module, we will address
- We manage critical conversations with your MRI vendor and what their design team should supply you in the form of a Multipage MRI Magnet Room, Control Room, and Equipment Room Buildout schBuildout, including the disclaimer and customer responsibilities, Site Readiness checklist, location planning reminders, and Magnetic Interference guidelines. We are familiar with the MRI vendor's design studies and layout schematics for their MRI placements at client sites. We can quickly identify issues and address them fully.
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We review the detailed and particular schematic your MRI vendor must provide for the MRI Magnet Room, MRI Control Room, and Equipment Room. The schematic includes a layout for your site and the demarcations for the 3G, 5G, 10G, 30G, 50G, 100G, and 200 G field lines.
- Please be aware the multipage study and layout of the MRI site plan, sent by your magnet vendor design team, may not initially show the 5 Gauss field line residing entirely within the MRI Magnet room. The vendor may need to be “assisted” in revising the multipage study and layout documents and, as necessary, modify the placement and positioning of the MRI Magnet within the Magnet Room to fully contain the 5G line within the MRI Magnet Room. The MRI vendor should know that it is unacceptable if the 5G line is not fully documented and displayed with the 5G line for your MRI magnet entirely within the room. Containing the 5G field within the magnet room is crucial for safety and MRI vendor accountability and your liability. From time to time, the vendor may suggest the 5G line can reside just outside the exterior wall into a garden area or bulge into an exterior storage cabinet and indicate a warning sign to be installed. Your architect and consultant will provide the necessary set of magnet room dimensions to accommodate the safe siting of your MRI magnet.
One hundred percent of the time, when we are retained on a project, our consultant group ensures the Magnet is sited and positioned safely so that the 5G line is fully contained within the walls of the MRI Magnet room.
- We will also discuss the necessary aspects of the planning, placement, and buildout of the buildout cryogen venting system with the architect and building contractor, including a possible building chase. We can discuss what to avoid and what is ideal for the Cryogen Venting system design and build.
- We can discuss the weight and BTU output for key MRI equipment components.
- We can discuss the various MRI Imaging Center Rooms and what to consider, know about, and plan for with each: MRI Magnet Room, MRI Control Room, MRI Equipment Room, Dressing and Locker Room, Patient Toilet, Hallways, Patient Reception, and Patient waiting areas. We can also provide possible minimum room dimensions for each room.
- We can discuss pre-action fire suppression systems for your very expensive MRI Magnet. We will also introduce the possible need for supplemental equipment room cooling in your MRI Imaging Center due to the tight room dimensions and high BTU heat output, which can damage equipment without heat load mitigation efforts.
- We can discuss options related to low-cost and very efficient city-water backup cooling systems for the MRI Magnet. These systems could be employed during a power outage to forestall a possible bleed-off of expensive Helium (Quench). (This will be dealt with in greater depth following Consultation and Assistance Module #10.)
- We can discuss humidity and temperature requirements for the control and magnet rooms.
- We can discuss the four critical safety zones and access and control of the Magnet Room specifically.
- With an existing grade ferrous metal rebar slab in place, we can discuss the cement core cut and repour of cement with non-ferrous metal rebar.
- We will discuss the design/build requirements for remote monitoring of the MRI unit and the owner's responsibilities.
- We can provide pre-planning advice on IT pathways, MRI unit IT requirements, and the IT remote send and receive planning architecture for the teleradiology remote read and report return, including a possible agreement for the archive of the MRI studies.
- We can discuss any client MRI Magnet site under consideration, answer questions, and provide relevant feedback based on the information supplied before scheduling the Consultation and Assistance Module.
Beware of the MRI Magnet Room Retrofit!
Recently, a new client contacted us to work with an existing MRI magnet room that had previously housed an MRI. We had been advised that the room was acceptable “as is" for a new Magnet Retrofit and would need little to no remodeling. However, the magnet room was not even remotely acceptable “as is.” It required a new engineering plan and expensive, challenging, and time-consuming Carbon Steel placement.
The site needed a new MRI cryogen venting plan and construction buildout.
In this type of MRI Magnet Room Retrofit, it is essential to know what you will encounter and what you need to consider when retrofitting an existing MRI Magnet and Equipment Room, which can be expensive and time-consuming. We have excellent information to share regarding an MRI Magnet Room retrofit after removing a previous MRI unit.
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