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How to Keep Your MRI Scanner Operating Up to Date with Preventive Maintenance

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Preventive Maintenance (PM) is very important for all types of MRI scanners. This is especially considered when signing a contract with the vendor when you decide to purchase a new MRI device. Take a close look so you can notice what is covered and what’s not. When this verbiage, that is maintenance and or warranties, it is vital to focus on it.  In a case where preventive maintenance is not included, it is something you simply must organize for yourself. But, before this understand that all PMs are formed equal and you have all updates for a year, however, there are some concerns which need to be addressed.

All managers of medical hospitals and organizations who have bought an MRI machine want to make sure that it functions well. The good thing about this is that there is a way to avoid or eventually prevent an anything happening of an unexpected and unwanted event, by reason and knowing all about your MRI preventive maintenance manual. It is good to know that preventive maintenance occurs before a problem with the MRI is detected, so it won’t have to break down unexpectedly. This is the most important way to protect this type of investment.

Essential aspects of the MRI machine that requires preventive maintenance

• Engineer Training: It is one of the most important things when it comes to the service staff. You have to ask if the service engineer is well-educated in your specific system model and manufacturer. All MRI devices have calibrations and other tests which are specific to the selected unit. The manager must make sure that the chosen engineer is more than just familiar and competent with the MRI he/she is working with.  The engineer should be certified on your MRI knowledge.

• Cold head Coverage. The price of the scanner’s cold head repair could be very high when the manager considers parts, engineering expenses, and labor. Make sure that the cold head service is included in the quarterly MRI preventive maintenance because in most of the cases it is not. In some cases, the cold head is termed Cryocooler. It is good to know that it requires the right service by a well-educated engineer. The cold head and the compressor are essential components to the magnets operations. Again, you must find the right engineer who has specific education and training on those units to be performing the preventive maintenance on them. A preventive maintenance check-up is good to be scheduled quarterly, just like the general visit of the MRI PM. The preventive maintenance can prevent high CCU pressures, a daily boil off one percent or more, or cold head knocking or banging.

• Chiller Service. When reading the contract and when buying an MRI device, also look for this service be involved in the quarterly preventive maintenance. In some of the contracts, this service may not be included. You have to know that the chiller is a separate device from the MRI machine and that’s why it may not be included in the entire service contract. The manager would want to contact a local HVAC team to support and maintain the chiller. It is very important to keep up periodic maintenance on your chiller. Another thing to consider is that all the cold water which provides cooling to the electronics and cabinets are produced by this piece. When this cooling stops, you would likely start to obtain error messages such as “over-temp-error” or “gantry overheat fault”. This will lead to a much higher risk of burning out other components and boards. Every manufacturer of equipment related to chillers for MRI needs a slightly different PM. This means that the chiller equipment models from the same producer may need different PM procedures. The chiller section cools the Helium loop which performs the actual cooling of the magnet. But, keep in mind that there are systems which provide direct cooling to some parts in order to cool electronics and cabinets.

• ACR Accreditation. Another interesting thing is that if you get preventive maintenance it may not meet the ACR standards. Many of these systems take the Picker Proview. 23& Open MRI is getting the biggest thing of the MRI worl ACR image quality standards are higher than before and they are making the older systems difficult to pass the checks. Keep in mind that ACR is not a synonym to OEM spec.

Summary

All mentioned questions about the maintenance of your MRI machine may vary. This depends on the MRI service contract provider. The most important thing is to ask the manufacturer just to be sure that the pro-owned and refurbished MRI scanner will obtain the care it needs to provide the care patients need. Take a close look at the contract and see which of these areas are covered.