Supplemental Cooling - Full Service

Working with the Architect, MRI manufacturer, Construction Company and HVAC subcontractor to plan for and respond to several types of MRI Imaging Center supplemental cooling issues. - Module #10

It is my experience, in working with many MRI Imaging Centers, MRI equipment rooms of nearly any size, however generous in square footage that is allocated to that space, can be naturally subject to the presence of excessive BTU heat loads, and this excessive heat load can lead to expensive MRI equipment room problems,  and also void equipment warrantees. It is important to review calculations of heat load in the intended equipment room space, and also take into account any possible additional issues of sun through equipment room windows if present, and prepare for the possible associated costs in the installation of a supplemental cooling unit if necessary (this will often be necessary, and desirable even if the equipment room receives generous venting and cooling through the standard building HVAC Units). I would say that nearly 80%, or more, of all of the MRI Imaging Center Projects that I have worked with, have required a supplemental cooling unit. We work with the Architect, builder, and HVAC subcontractor to  determine the equipment room BTU heat loads and equipment room cooling requirements to ensure the MRI equipment is adequately cooled 24/7.

Plan on Supplemental Cooling for your MRI Equipment Room

The installation of an additional supplemental cooling unit for the MRI Equipment Room should be anticipated and planned for. These small but strong (CRAC) air conditioning units, received their name from use as a computer room air conditioning unit and we have installed them in High BTU Load server rooms as well. These units have a higher air flow than typical Air Conditioning Systems, they work to prevent low humidity, and they also work to put a stop to water vapor from forming. Lower humidity can give rise to static electricity build up which can cause damage to crucial electronics. And water vapor can corrode equipment. We routinely advise our MRI Imaging Center clients on this issue and would look forward to providing you with professional expertise and peace of mind in the crucial process of protecting your expensive MRI equipment from shut down and failure due to excessive heat load. These CRAC units are well worth the investment and peace of mind in their installation. You want your MRI Imaging Center, MRI Magnet, to “go live” and stay live, for many years in the future, and the installation of the supplemental CRAC cooling unit in your MRI Equipment Room, can go a very long way in offering you that peace of mind. This is the first of two  important Supplemental Cooling issues you should be prepared to address in the planning and buildout of your MRI Imaging Center.

Many of the rural areas that I have worked in, can be subject to strong storms that can result in power loss. In addition, many areas of the country where we provide assistance, can also experience electrical power surges or “brown outs” of varying degrees. These electrical interruption events are not the friend of very expensive and complex MRI units.

The event of a full interruption of power to the MRI Imaging Center Suite, or power brownout, or voltage fluctuation or sag, of a sufficient nature, can trip your MRI Magnet, to shut down. If this occurs for more than a shorter period of time in your MRI Imaging Center, the liquid Helium which is the coolant for the superconducting Magnet in your MRI unit, which has, through significant use of electricity, been kept at the temperature of-269.1 C, (near absolute zero), can begin to heat up and boil off Helium, and a “quench” can occur. This is less dangerous than it is very expensive. You will have a cryogen vent to the roof of the building and in the event of a “Quench," the helium will simply vent to the atmosphere.

There is however a highly effective, simple, and relatively inexpensive stop gap to provide your MRI a bridge until the return of power and the full cooling of your Helium. In the smaller, non-hospital setting, we recommend the installation of a city water cooling backup system in your MRI project. That is a process and one of several vendor systems, in which the MRI Magnet room is pre-plumbed to accept a constant flow of cool water through the MRI Magnet unit until the MRI field maintenance engineer can arrive. The system must be planned for in the design build process and can be easily installed and easy for your MRI Technologist to implement when and if the time arises. This can usually keep a full MRI Helium quench from happening , and can allow the power to be restored and MRI restarted before the venting of anything but a very small amount of Helium can occur, if it happens at all. This also allows the necessary field engineers from the manufacturer at least a half day to full day to arrive to make any examination of the MRI unit that might be necessary and desirable under your equipment warranty.

Plan on Supplemental Back Up Cooling for your MRI Magnet

In the build out and implementation of your MRI Imaging Center, I recommend the installation of a city water back up system for your MRI Magnet, to minimize the possibility of a Helium Quench after power disruption and or MRI shutdown. A city water cooling back up system, in the event of prolonged power disruption to your MRI Magnet, is a simple, relatively low cost protection for your MRI Magnet, and provides some increased assurance of keeping your expensive Helium in your Magnet and avoiding a Quench event.

MRI Magnet Remote Monitoring

As is standard in the Industry, a requirement by all MRI manufactures and Vendors, and requires advance construction pre planning, it is also important to ensure your MRI unit is remotely monitored through a separate dedicated hard phone line, and in the event of a loss of power and possible rise in temp of your Helium, the equipment manufacturer is nearly immediately aware of it, and has access to your Magnet operational information and in turn you will receive a phone call and a field engineer can be dispatched as necessary. You will need to designate your entity contact person well prior to MRI, and you will have to arrange for the set up and routing of an actual dedicated phone line to the MRI Magnet Equipment Room.

In this Consultation and Assistance Module we will discuss

*How far along are you with this project at present.

*Will you be using an Architect and/or a Structural Engineering firm?

*How this Consultation and Assistance Module might apply to your project.

*How the BTU load in the MRI equipment room will necessitate the placement of the CRAC unit.

Discussion on how the primary cooling distribution cannot keep up with the large equipment crowded MRI equipment room BTU load.

*What MRI unit do you intend to install?

*What are the dimensions of your MRI Equipment Room?

*Are there any other heat sources in the MRI Equipment Room, such as windows with sun?

*Provide a solid overview of this design and build issue, along with answering any questions that you might have.

*Follow up to discussions, if any that you might have had with your Architect or Builder regarding both supplemental cooling issues and the design and build process. Have you heard of these issues prior to this Consultation and Assistance Module?

*Had you thought of loss of power and how you might deal with this as it relates to cooling the MRI Magnet when the power was off? Were you aware of the possibility of dealing with an MRI Helium loss in the event of power cut off?

*Answer any questions that you might have regarding supplemental cooling in the event of loss of power to the MRI.

*What do you know about the staffing and response times for the MRI Magnet Supplier that you are considering. What is their normal dispatch time and response to MRI service calls in your area? This is very important to know before you select an MRI Magnet as well.

*All issues related to this topic area and probable assistance that will be needed.