MRI & CT Medical Imaging Vibration Engineering

Medical and Scientific Imaging Vibration Engineering Services

Professional Vibration Measurement Testing and Control Engineering Services:

Thornton Acoustics & Vibrations of Pittsburgh PA provides vibration measurement and testing for MRI and CT scanner sites along advanced vibration control and design engineering services to identify and control vibration sources to reduce transmitted energy that adversely impacts on the sites that have vibration sensitive medical equipment and vibration sensitive equipment and instruments. State-of-the-art vibration test instrumentation is used. Data are processed with the highly advanced B&K Pulse System equipped with a cutting edge 160 dB dynamic range Dyna-X Front-end.

Dr. Thornton has more than 23 years of experience working as a vibration measurement, testing, and control engineer with MRI and CT scanner equipment, including at the factory of some vendors. His ongoing experience is with GE, Siemens, Phillips, ONI, Picker, Toshiba, and others.

Magnetic Resonant Imaging systems, CT Scanners, Angioplasty machines, surgical microscopes, and many other modern medical instruments are adversely affected by low level vibrations. Vibrations cause relative motion among components that disrupts their operation. Images on 1.5T and 3.0T MRIs experience ghosting and artifacts when excess vibrations exist. CT Scanners, especially the new 64 slice units, have poor images. Microscopes jitter and shake when the surgeon attempts to use them during procedures. Vibrations must be reduced to acceptable levels for the proper performance of this medical equipment.

The structural response of buildings is tested using modal testing and analysis. Finite element models are used to correct problems with natural frequencies in the floor and supporting structure. The frequency response of the floor is measured with instrumented force hammers, accelerometers, and the DSP of a B&K Pulse System.

Site studies are performed by Dr. William (Bill) R. Thornton or Will Thornton before new vibration sensitive medical equipment or vibration sensitive equipment or instruments are purchased to determine if the site will be acceptable to the vendor or end user. Clients are informed as to whether corrective work will solve existing vibration problems. If necessary, the client is assisted in finding an alternate site in extreme cases.

Foundations are design to reduce vibration levels to meet the medical equipment or vibration sensitive instrument and equipment vendor’s guidelines. Floating floors are used in extreme cases to mitigate ground vibrations where the vibration sources cannot be controlled, e.g., trains or highways.

Vibration measurements are made that conform to the testing protocol of vendors. Additional measurements are also made that go beyond those which are required to detect other subtle problems that might otherwise go undetected. The intent of the site vibration study is make sure that medical equipment will work to its full capacity in addition to making sure it meets the vibration specifications of the vendor.

A commercial portable surveillance system is used to monitor the surrounding environment which can be hidden by the totally enclosed room to be used for the vibration sensitive equipment. The remote wireless camera is placed at key locations and it transmits real time images that are visually correlated with vibration measurements to identify specific events that produce unacceptable transient vibrations.

MRI & CT Scanner and Vibration Sensitive Equipment & Instrument Services Offered:

Expert vibration control and design services for MRI’s, CT Scanners, and other vibration sensitive equipment and instruments include:

- Site vibration measurements for compliance with vendor guidelines
- Vibration Source Identification and Control for Image Quality
- Foundation design for MRI and CT Scanner Vibration Control
- MRI Noise Measurements and control
- Design of MRI Suites for Noise Control
- Modal testing of MRI site foundations
- MRI site analysis for compliance with vendor vibration guidelines
- MRI Site Vibration Analysis & Testing
- CT Scanner Site Vibration Analysis & Testing
- MRI offending vibration source identification and control
- MRI & CT Scanner Site Evaluation
- Surgical Microscope site evaluation and foundation design

MRI, CT scanner, and Vibration Sensitive Instrument and Equipment Projects Completed:

Over 1000 projects have been successfully completed by Thornton Acoustics & Vibrations that includes the vibration control of medical equipment:

- Hundreds of MRI & CT Scanner Site Evaluations
- Surgical Microscope foundation design
- Foundation design for research microscopes
- Surgical microscope mounting
- Vibration control of floors for eye surgery microscopes.
- Floating floor isolation of a 1.5T MRI at the UPMC Sports Medicine complex that services the Pittsburgh - Steelers football team.  The MRI was isolated from a railroad that operates within 50 feet of the site.

The firm of Thornton Acoustics & Vibrations, Consulting Engineers in Acoustics Vibrations and Noise Control, works on vibration related issues for MRI, CT scanners, and vibration sensitive instruments throughout North America with a prominence Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (PA), Cleveland Ohio (OH), Baltimore Maryland (MD), Richmond Virginia (VA), New York (NY), West Virginia (WV), North Carolina (NC), Tennessee (TN), Kentucky (KY), South Carolina (SC), Indiana (IN), New Jersey (NJ) and Illinois (IL).