RSNA 2009 Meeting Preview - Radiological Society of North America

tects and vendors to improve lighting
and workflow and reduce noise, said
Dr. Horii, who will discuss the topic in
depth at RSNA 2009. He and Rostenberg
will also discuss regulatory issues
impacting radiology architecture.
Design Shifts from Radiology-Centric Areas
Overall facility design is another area
ripe for optimization, said Dr. Horii.
“We need to get away from radiologycentric
areas,” he said. “When a doctor
has to wander around the hospital for
10 minutes searching for a consulting
radiologist, that’s too time-consuming.”
Location makes a difference when
it comes to patients as well. Despite
all the advancements that have come
with PACS, patients must still go to the
equipment, which can be time-consuming.
If a CT scanner is 300 feet from an
elevator, it takes longer for the patient
to get to and from the scanner and on
and off the table than it does to take an
image.
Such considerations are particularly
key in this age of healthcare reform,
Dr. Horii said, as the utilization of
equipment must increase dramatically.
“Hospital administrators and the government
seeking a 90 percent utilization
rate on a million-dollar piece of
imaging equipment should know that it
is going to be very difficult with inefficient
room turnover,” he said.
That is one reason architects strive
to bring equipment design in sync with
the design process, said William N.
Bernstein, A.I.A., a principal with the
New York-based firm Architecture for
Radiology, whose members regularly
attend RSNA annual meetings.
“Clients often delay the final equipment
selection until the very end of the
process in order to keep options open
and, in some cases, reduce costs,” said
Bernstein. “That creates an issue on the
design end when final equipment specs
are needed sooner. One way of dealing
with this is designing ‘universal rooms’
that allow physicians greater flexibility
and more time to make their final
equipment selection.”
Bernstein said radiology architects
ensure that the infrastructure supports
the equipment and that architects who
are trained to understand the needs
of radiology learn to ask, “When the
equipment needs to be replaced in the
future, what is the exit path?”
Dr. Horii said that exit path is
sometimes forgotten until it’s too late.
“When an MR is built in the center of
a facility, how are you going to get the
giant magnets out when it’s time to
upgrade?” he asked.
He cited one hospital that initially
broke into the side of a building to
bring the magnet inside. Years later,
another building went up next door.
Intraoperative MR Imaging
Perhaps the most complex example of surgical and
imaging convergence, intraoperative MR imaging (I-MRI)
provides image guidance during surgery. I-MRI facility
design requires a unique understanding of MR imaging
safety criteria as well as surgical protocol for clinical
workflow. In this example, the magnet is mounted on a
track that allows the I-MRI to move from the diagnostic
area into the operating room and then back into the diagnostic
suite for surgery to continue.
Image courtesy of ANSHEN+ALLEN
When it was time to upgrade the MR,
the magnet had to be broken apart in
order to remove it, which was very
costly.
Value of Radiology Architecture Not Fully
Understood
“Many radiology professionals don’t
have a good sense of what architects
do,” said Bernstein. “There is a huge
value in what a properly trained radiology
architect can do in terms of
framework design, construction, getting
equipment in place, the aesthetics of
the project and ultimately, the success
of the business.”
“We put a great deal of emphasis
on what the space feels like for the
patient, staff and faculty,” said Rostenberg.
“That is extremely important.” ■
❚
Architecture at
RSNA 2009
The multisession course, “Architecture That
Makes a Difference: Design Guidelines for
Tomorrow’s Imaging
Environment,” will
be held on Monday,
Nov. 30, at RSNA
2009.
Registration for
this and all RSNA 2009 courses is under
way at RSNA2009.RSNA.org.
RSNANEWS. ORG
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