10 Questions To Ask Your Architect:

By Robert Junk and Tobias Gilk

There is no shortage of 'urban legends' surrounding disasters in MRI suites. From the brand new suite that couldn't actually scan patients because the MRI was vibrating too much, to multi-modality suites where magnetic fringe-fields incapacitated PET-CT machines. With the millions of dollars of equipment on the line, not to mention the health of your patients and staff, how do you know that your next renovation, expansion or new imaging suite is being handled by designers who know how to protect your investment and your patients?

We wish it was as easy as having the label 'healthcare architect'. The fact is that healthcare today involves so many specialties, each highly technical, it is profoundly difficult to truly be an expert in the planning and design of more than a handfull of areas within a hospital. And with the 'typical' installation drawings that you can download from vendors' websites, a complete novice can produce architectural drawings that appear to be the product of a knowledgeble designer. So if neither titles nor portfolio provide any real measure of your architects' skill in designing MRI suites, what does?

Unfortunately, administrators have had to fall back on the 'buyer beware' premise. It is up to every hospital and imaging facility to reinvent their selection process to select architects and engineers for MRI projects. That is, until now.

While it reveals nothing about a firm's aesthetic, working styles or the personalities of the key players (all of which are important to the overall decision), the ten questions below can help you assess the design team's grasp of the overarching planning, design and safety principles, as well as their command of the technical issues unique to MRI and multi-modal imaging facilities.

These ten questions are by no means exhaustive, we could quickly come up with at least twenty more, but they are a useful barometer of the expertise of your design team.

For each of these questions, your designers should be able to answer the question on the spot. These are not research topics for which they should need to go back and read vendor information and look up templates. A designer who can't address these issues right when you ask them may still be an excellent architect, but they're NOT the expert you want to oversee your MRI project.

1. Explain the zones and functions in the ACR 4-zone model?
2. What way should the door to the magnet room swing, in to or out of the magnet room?
3. What does the RF shielding do for the MRI's magnetic field?
4. Are there any siting issues with CT, PET or nuclear medicine relative to an MRI?
5. What are the causes and effects of magnetic contamination?
6. Apart from the MRI, what should the tech be able to see from the console?
7. What HIPAA concerns are there in MRI suite design?
8. If I decide to trade out my 1.5 T magnet with a 3.0 T, is there anything I will need to re-evaluate?
9. What are the siting / planning concerns with active shielding failure?
10. Are there any design consequences if we want to start performing MR-guided biopsies or other interventional procedures?

Certainly intelligent architects and engineers can disagree on the best way to tackle any given problem, but all good designers should present all sides of each issue to their client to collectively make an informed decision.

Designers who dodge any question, insist that the issue is really addressed by the vendor, or attempt to trump any verification of their expertise with the "we've done twelve MRI suites just like this" evasion aren't listening to your concerns and responding with substantive answers. Isn't this at the heart of what you hire professionals to do, listen and respond with their expertise?

Not being familiar with these technical issues does not mean that an architect is not a good fit with you and your facility, though it probably does mean that they could benefit (and you will certainly benefit) from some expert advice. If you have any question as to a design team's ability to address the technical issues, insist that they bring on an expert in MRI facility planning, design and construction.

Click the link below if you would like us to share with you abbreviated answers to each of the ten questions above. Our responses aren't all-encompassing, but they are a useful yardstick when evaluating other answers. When you have millions of dollars of equipment and the health and safety of your patients in the balance, isn't it worth ten questions to help determine if your faith is being placed in the correct hands?