A new Siemens MRI system was recently installed at Rambam Health Care Campus in conjunction with preparations for renovating the hospital’s MRI Institute.
A crane prepares to move the MRI container into place. Photography courtesy of Rambam HCC; Inset courtesy of THERA TRAINER.
Months of preparation, careful planning, and synchronization between many parties culminated in an eight-hour logistics operation to install an advanced "Tesla 1.5" MRI system in a mobile facility at Rambam Health Care Campus.
The move is the first step of a comprehensive plan for the reconstruction of Rambam's Magnetic Resonance Imaging Institute, in which an old T1.5 system will be replaced with an advanced new system and, at a later date, a T3 system will be added to serve the needs of Rambam and University of Haifa researchers. The plan also includes complete renovation of all areas within the Institute. The newly installed MRI system will enable the Institute to maintain 24/7 functional continuity during the renovation.
Planning measures for the project included locating a designated location near an existing building, in order to provide all necessary services for patients, such as a patient reception area, a waiting area, a dressing room, an examination preparation room, and restrooms. Once a spot was found, meetings were held to define the infrastructure required for the system's operation, including concrete work, electricity, communications, and more. All work was done under the direction of the hospital's Maintenance Department.
After completing the required preparations, installation of the new MRI system began. The complexity of the operation was due to the location of the system’s temporary home in a narrow passage, in close proximity to two buildings: the Paul and Herta Amir Internal Medicine Building and the Bay View Building, and the need to lift the system high in the air in order to place it properly between the buildings. A large crane hoisted the 30-ton container containing the MRI system over the Bay View Building and lowered it with the utmost care in its designated place.
The operation was successful thanks to the cooperation of Rambam’s Security Department, which cordoned off the area deputies and redirected patients and medical staff; the Maintenance Department, which prepared all necessary system infrastructure; the Safety Department, which arranged all safety measures; the MRI team, which was a full partner in all processes; and the hospital’s administrative management.
