In the complex world of Healthcare Technology Management (HTM), in-house HTM biomedical service personnel play…
Important Tips When Removing and Reinstalling a CT Scanner
- Visualize and walk full removal route. Have in your head and in writing, the exact route your team will use to get the de-installed CT Scanner out of the building. Be sure to factor in parking and loading concerns by allotting enough time and space to get this accomplished.
- Check on zoning and municipal regulations. This is more of a concern when removing an MRI due the heavy weight of an MRI magnet, but many facilities located in big cities or other high traffic areas will many times have a requirement to get permission to block off a street or other concerns in a congested city/area.
- Safety first. Be sure to completely power down the CT Scanner, remove and/or disconnect all power cables, and lock out all electric boxes to eliminate any chance of electric injury or unintended power surges.
- Protect the facility. Always make sure to adequately protect the flooring, tile, carpet, walls etc by laying down appropriate materials that will protect the facility from any damage that might occur when removing a CT Scanner.
- Installation of replacement CT Scanner. This is the same as tip#1, only in reverse. Be sure to properly account for parking, loading dock/ entry way clearance to include removal and then replacing any doors. The same floor and wall protection tips for removal obviously apply here as well.
- Open communication with facility management. Be sure, early on in the process, to have a separate sheet with contact info (emails and cell numbers) for all people involved. This includes truck drivers and riggers as well. There are politics in play at all workplaces. Be sure to communicate your written plan, along with a timeline and names of your employees and subcontractors to the facility managers and any employees involved.
- Rest and hydrate to look and perform your best. This probably shouldn’t need mentioning, but unfortunately it does. Be sure that you and your team are well rested, do not stay out late the night before, and have food/water/coffee to last the day. Remember that medical facilities are professional environments and need to be treated as such. I expect my team to be clean shaven with a professional appearance. The facility is our customer, even if we are only doing the labor, and we need to remember that in our appearance and mannerisms. If you do plan to take any meal breaks, make sure you do it at a time convenient for the project and facility and try to factor in natural pauses in the process and plan your breaks/meals during that time.
- Prep room for installation. In addition to a new epoxy floor or similar prep work, many times the new replacement CT Scanner will have a slightly different footprint that the previous CT Scanner. Meaning it may be a few feet longer/shorter/wider etc. Also, the cables and ancillary equipment may be different as well. Often, this equipment has been in that room for years, and the area underneath and around it can fade or crack.
- Mechanical installation and calibration. This is where the culmination of all the work listed above comes to fruition. Once the CT Scanner is in the room, factory trained engineers will perform the final step of getting the CT Scanner running and calibrated properly. This should include a satisfactory first scan and must be accompanied by FDA form 2579, a specific government document that must be completed by the installing technician and kept on file at the facility at all times.
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