Getting new, and often heavy, medical equipment, such as MRI and CT scanners, into busy working hospitals, is often highly challenging – from a structural, mechanical, electrical, and logistical standpoint.
Stuart Beardwell, BEng (Hons) CEng MIStructE, an associate director at consulting engineers, Crofton, who has overseen the moving of heavy medical equipment into many UK hospitals, discusses the key issues to consider, explains how time and costs can be saved, and considers how to manage such work without excessively disrupting everyday clinical activities.
Moving heavy medical components such as MRI scanners, as well as any associated equipment, into a designated space within a hospital building, will generally require the structural strengthening of floors. Although, following such machines’ initial introduction to the market, the design of many MRI units was refined, leading to them becoming lighter, the past few years’ advances in technology have seen the weight of such scanners rising once again, mainly as a result of increases in magnet weight, as hospitals have upgraded from 1.5 Tesla (1.5T) to a 3 Tesla (3T) machines. However it may be assumed, over time, that the weight of 3 Tesla scanners will come down. Typically, a recently installed 1.5T MRI weighed approximately 4.6 tonnes, and an accompanying 3T MRI weighed 7.2 tonnes, plus patient tables and technical systems equipment.
Placement
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