MRI Magnet Supplemental Cooling - Full Service

MRI Magnet Cooling: Prevent damage and loss with MRI Magnet supplemental cooling. - Module #10

It is my experience working with many MRI Imaging Centers. MRI equipment rooms of nearly any size, however generous in square footage allocated to that space, can be naturally subject to excessive BTU heat loads. This excessive heat load can lead to expensive MRI equipment room problems and void equipment warranties. It is essential 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 potential 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% 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 loads and 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 this name from their use as air conditioning units for computer rooms, 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 stop water vapor from forming. Lower humidity can give rise to static electricity build-up, damaging crucial electronics. And water vapor can corrode equipment. We routinely advise our MRI Imaging Center clients on this issue.

We look forward to providing you professional expertise and peace of mind in protecting your expensive MRI equipment from shutdown and failure due to excessive heat load. These CRAC units are well worth their installation investment and peace of mind. You want your MRI Imaging Center to “Go Live" and stay live for many years.

Installing a supplemental CRAC cooling unit in your MRI equipment room can improve your peace of mind.

You should address two crucial Supplemental Cooling issues in the planning and buildout of your MRI Imaging Center.

I have worked in many rural areas subject to storms and power loss. In addition, many regions of the country where we assist can also experience electrical power surges or “brownouts" of varying severity.

These electrical interruptions are not the friend of expensive and complex MRI units.

The event of a complete interruption of power to the MRI Imaging Center Suite, a power brownout, or voltage fluctuation or sag of a sufficient nature can cause your MRI Magnet to shut down.

If this occurs briefly in your MRI Imaging Center, the liquid Helium, the coolant for the superconducting Magnet in your MRI unit, can heat up and boil off Helium, and a “Quench" can occur. Generally, through the significant use of electricity, the Helium stays at the temperature of-269.1 C (near absolute zero)

A "Quench" is dangerous and also very expensive.

You will have a cryogen vent on the roof, and in the event of a “Quench," the Helium will vent into the atmosphere.

However, there is a highly effective, simple, and relatively inexpensive stopgap to provide your MRI a bridge until the return of power and the complete cooling of your Helium.

In the smaller, non-hospital setting, we recommend installing 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 arrives. The backup cooling system is planned during the design-build process and can be easily installed and implemented by your MRI Technologist when and if the time arises.

Such backup cooling can usually prevent a full MRI Helium Quench, allowing the power to be restored and the MRI restarted before venting more than a minimal amount of Helium.

Supplemental cooling also allows the necessary manufacturer field engineers at least half a day to arrive and examine the MRI unit as required and desirable under your equipment warranty.

Plan on Supplemental Back-Up Cooling for your MRI Magnet

In the buildout and implementation of your MRI Imaging Center, I recommend installing a city water backup system for your MRI Magnet, minimizing the possibility of a Helium Quench after power disruption and/or MRI shutdown.

In the event of prolonged power disruption to your MRI Magnet, the City water cooling backup system is a simple, relatively low-cost protection that provides 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 and a warranty requirement by all MRI manufacturers and Vendors, the Vendor will remotely monitor your MRI unit through a separate dedicated hard phone line.

In the event of a loss of power and a possible rise in the temperature of your Helium, the equipment manufacturer will be immediately aware and will access your Magnet operational information. You will receive a phone call, and your Vendor will dispatch a Field Engineer if necessary.

You must designate a contact person well before the MRI installation and arrange a dedicated phone line to the MRI Magnet Equipment Room.

In this Module, we will discuss

• How far along are you with this project at present?
• Will you use an Architect and/or a Structural Engineering firm?
• How will the BTU load in the MRI equipment room necessitate the placement of the CRAC unit?
• Discuss how the primary cooling distribution cannot keep up with the BTU load in a crowded MRI equipment room.
• What MRI unit do you intend to install?
• What are the dimensions of your MRI Equipment Room?
• Are there other heat sources in the MRI Equipment Room, such as windows with sun?
• Provide a solid overview of this design and build issue and answer any questions you might have.
• Follow up on any discussions you might have had with your Architect or Builder regarding supplemental cooling issues and the design-and-build process. Have you heard of these issues before this Consultation and Assistance Module?
• Have you thought of the loss of power and how you might deal with this regarding cooling the MRI Magnet when the power was off? Were you aware of the possibility of dealing with an MRI Helium loss in case of a power cut-off?
• Answer any questions regarding supplemental cooling in case the MRI loses power.
• What do you know about the staffing and response times for the MRI Magnet Supplier you are considering? What are their regular dispatch times and responses to MRI service calls in your area?

Teleradiology/Radiologist – Full Service – 11

Connectivity Technologies – Full Service – 16

MRI Staffing – Full Service – 15