Facility-planning implications
of the new MRI safety guidelines
9/9/02
By William N. Bernstein, ACHA, AIA
Bernstein & Associates,
Architects
Facility owners and managers planning a new MRI
installation should be aware of the recently issued
American College of Radiology White Paper on MR Safety (AJR,
June 2002, Vol. 178:6, pp. 1335-1347). The article that
follows is a highly selective review of the white paper,
focusing strictly on its architectural implications. It is
recommended that anyone involved in creating a new MRI
facility read the entire white paper.
The main architectural
impact of the white paper is contained within section B,
Static Magnetic Field Issues: Site Access Restriction. The
main concept put forth is the recommendation that MRI
facilities be zoned, as a way of ensuring patient and
staff safety. The recommended zoning is described below.
Proposed Zone I
This is the first
space that visitors enter when they visit the MRI
facility. It is the area that is "freely accessible to the
general public...through which patients, healthcare
personnel, and other employees of the MR site access the
MRI environment" (AJR,
June 2002, Vol. 178:6, p. 1336). Typical program elements
for the Zone I area would be waiting and reception areas.
Proposed Zone II
This is the
"interface between the publicly accessible uncontrolled
Zone I and the strictly controlled Zone III and IV"(AJR,
June 2002, Vol. 178:6, p. 1336). Typical program elements
for this zone might include patient dressing rooms and
patient holding rooms...
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