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Sep 23, 2019 · Healthcare facility designers and architects can add value through collaboration and education while enhancing patient and staff safety in an MRI suite.
An MRI scan often requires an extended period of time in a confi ned area. To enhance patient comfort, design considerations should be considered from the moment the patient enters the imaging suite. For example, RF shielded doors should be architectural in design to provide an easy-open, lever-style handle.
- Weight Matters
- Building Vibration
- Equipment Selection
- Sound interference
- Conclusion
Let’s start with weight, as MRI equipment is heavy, typically weighing 8,000 to 10,000 pounds with the load concentrated over a relatively small footprint of approximately 4.5-foot square. Besides the magnet self-weight, associated control-room electrical equipment can weigh between 2,500 to 3,000 pounds. Years ago, most imaging suites for healthca...
Building vibrations must be evaluated because vibrations can reduce the image quality of the scans. When MRI suites are located on grade-level conditions, isolation joints in the floor slab can help limit the transfer of floor vibrations entering the suite. Vehicular traffic in proximity to the suite can cause ground vibrations to enter the suite. ...
Today, MRI manufacturers/vendors provide vibration design criteria on the equipment cut sheets. The design team can benefit when the owner makes final equipment selection early in the design phase. When equipment selection is not finalized, the design team must make assumptions about the design criteria. Hiring a vibration consultant is recommended...
MRI scanners are capable of producing sound pressure levels in excess of 110 dBA. Sound from MRI equipment can be extremely disruptive to other occupants in the building. Just as vibration can travel through a building structure to an MRI, acoustical frequency vibration can be telegraphed through building components to surrounding spaces. Construct...
While this article primarily touched on some of the structural and architectural design considerations of MRI suites, many other design aspects should be considered by your design team, including mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. The most successful MRI suites result from a knowledgeable, integrated architecture and engineering planning ...
A four zone facility design is used to control and restrict access to the MRI environment 2. The facility is conceptually divided into zones that physically restrict access of health care personnel into areas of danger due to proximity to the static magnetic field.
The amount of iron needed and its location on walls, floor and ceiling may be estimated by IMEDCO, but in most cases the MRI system manufacturer provides a calculation of dimen-sions and exact location.
The American College of Radiology has defined four safety zones within MRI facilities. These are denoted Zones I through IV and correspond to levels of increasing magnetic field exposure (and hence potential safety concern). All areas freely accessible to the general public without supervision.
People also ask
Where should MRI electronics be placed?
Why are MRI facilities complex?
Can MRI suites be designed in hospitals and healthcare facilities?
Can an electrical room be placed near an MRI suite?
What drives the design of MRI suites & clinics?
Site selection and preparation for a clinical MR installation require special considerations that have not been encountered previously in a clinical environment. The factors involved in locating an MR unit in a diagnostic facility are more numerous and far more complex than for radiological imaging equipment.
