Manchester Royal Infirmary MRI Scanner Suite

Manchester Royal Infirmary MRI Scanner Suite was commissioned by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.  The trust needed an additional scanner suite to enable research, which included work on a cardiac-based study.  It was a project that had the potential to save a significant number of lives.  The new scanner was also going to allow the hospital to cater to many more patients and helping to minimise scan wait times. 

MTX had successfully delivered and installed a PET-MR scanner suite in October 2016.  The Manchester Royal Infirmary requested the help of MTX with this new scanner facility.

The solution offered by MTX

AFL Architects designed a two-storey scanner suite, which MTX produced.  On the ground floor was the scanner room.  It included the Siemens scanner and an RF cage.  There was also the control room, some offices, a technical store and a waiting area for patients.  This intricate design needed to successfully function for a variety of purposes – offering safe and comfortable spaces for staff and service users. 

The RF cage required a lot of additional testing.  The specialist tests were needed to ensure that the protective shield worked against the magnetic frequency that is created by the MRI scanner.  The tests needed to be completed before the facility was designated as operational.  If the RF cage was not fully compliant, low-frequency magnetic fields could impact on members of the public in corridors close by. The building was fully compliant.

The first floor was used as the store for the scanner’s plant room. In addition to the functional requirements of the scanner, the complex needed to act as an extension to the existing MRI department – and a part of the hospital as a whole.  The new facilities needed to connect, for the ease of patients.  The design included a link bridge, which was built of glazed curtain wall panels. 

With a 130m2 footprint, this new scanner building was a significant addition to the hospital.  It was constructed on a traditional foundation.  The lightweight steel frame was manufactured offsite and was clad in traditional brickwork. 

Delivering with consideration

When working on a hospital site, there is a lot to consider.  The new facility connects to a functioning department, which needs to continue to work for patients.  Construction can be disruptive, and this must be reduced as much as possible.  The management of the interface with hospital staff and service users was, therefore, a significant consideration for MTX.  The plan put forward was comprehensive.  Created with thorough communication with the onsite team, MTX was able to plan segregation between development work and the working hospital.  Areas were segregated so that crucial deliverables, such as the scanner itself, could be installed and tested.

MTX was also careful to manage the safety risk to the public.  The site was close to the main road.  Therefore, traffic and pedestrians needed to be protected from the potentials for accidents that are possible around construction sites.  MTX carefully planned the logistics to counter this health and safety issue.  With the use of safety barriers and scheduled road closures, large and complex materials were delivered to the site without incident. 

Road closures are not ideal.  To minimise the disruption during this period, MTX employed traffic marshals to help guide traffic – helping to reduce frustrations as well as maintain safety.  The reputation as a considerate constructor is central to the work of MTX – which is especially crucial on and around the grounds of a busy city hospital.  A functioning hospital site requires the free flow of traffic.

The final consideration was the weather.  To deliver and install the MRI scanner, the weather needed to be dry.  Therefore, delivery was taken at the start of September – just months after beginning the project.  The scanner was set to enter service the same year, in the autumn months.

Summary

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust turned to MTX to construct the new Manchester Royal Infirmary MRI Scanner Suite because of a history of successful projects.  The requirements of the new facility were complex.  Not only did the building need to be compliant, keeping all safe from circulating currents within the human body, but also useful for the care of patients and future research.

MTX was able to plan a project that kept the hospital site functional and its users safe while delivering a large, two-storey complex.  Through careful communication and the use of a lightweight steel frame offsite building system, the project was completed efficiently and effectively.