"A Bright MRI Testing Room with an Open Feeling" Begins Operating at Kurume University Hospital
A new concept in testing rooms ends both patients' cooped up feelings and their uneasiness during the tests.

June 30, 2009
Takenaka Corporation

Takenaka Corporation (President: Toichi Takenaka) has introduced a combined magnetic and electromagnetic wave shielding technology which creates bright MRI testing rooms with a feeling of openness in an MRI testing room (equipped with a high performance MRI with magnetic field strength of 3 teslas) in a new building at Kurume University Hospital (Address: 67 Asahi-machi, Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Design: Kume Sekkei Co., Ltd. Construction: Takenaka Corporation). The new testing room recently began operating.

<Exterior wall side opening><View of the inside of the MRI testing room>

This new shielding technology consists of square tubes of combined magnetic shield material and electromagnetic shield material assembled side by side to form a sheet then sandwiched by glass. A completed shield is an attractive grill-work providing superior design qualities. By admitting light and providing a view of the outside environment, these translucent shields create an testing room environment with a feeling of openness, mitigating the feelings of anxiety and of being cooped up experienced by patients receiving an examination in a conventional MRI room.

In the new MRI testing room at the Kurume University Hospital (38 square meters), to create a more pleasant environment for patients, grill-work shield windows are installed at two locations: in an exterior wall (width 2.4m × height 2.6m) and the wall on the waiting room side (width 0.8m × height 2.6m). The shield window in the exterior wall admits light and ensures a view of the outside. The window space can also be used to move testing equipment into and out of the room when MRI machines are replaced in the future. Each opening is integrated as a single unit so that every few years, when the equipment is replaced, the accompanying renovation work can be completed quickly, shortening the period when the room is shut down. And the waiting room side shield window enables people accompanying patients to observe them from the waiting room, relieving patients' anxiety during their examination.

[Results of pre-start-up measurements of the performance of the MRI testing room in the new building at the Kurume University Hospital]

An MRI testing room must prevent magnetism generated by the MRI machine from leaking out of the room and also prevent electromagnetic waves penetrating the room from outside. Measurements of performance during operation have confirmed that the room will clear all performance criteria which an MRI testing room must satisfy.

• Magnetic shield Performance

  Required performance:

  The leak magnetic field from an MRI, which can effect pacemakers, must be 0.5 milliteslas (=5 gausses) or less outside the MRI room.

  Measurement results:

  It was 0.5 milliteslas or less.

• Electromagnetic shield performance

  Required performance:

  Unnecessary electromagnetic waves from outside an MRI room disrupt MRI images, so these waves must be blocked.

  Measurement results:

  Electromagnetic wave shield performance of 100dB, which is the maker's specification, was achieved.

• Soundproofing performance

  Required performance:

  MRI imaging is a very noisy process, so leakage of this sound from the room must be prevented.

  Measurement results:

  It achieved an assessed soundproofing performance value of TS-45, satisfying the specifications.

[Future development]

Based on the results of the application of this technology in this hospital, Takenaka Corporation will aggressively offer technical proposals to large hospitals and to clinics specializing in diagnostic imaging.

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