From the March 2011 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


To avoid potentially dealing with an inexperienced company, vendors urge facilities to thoroughly research their options – ask companies for references and seek information about their standing in the industry. Facilities should ensure that the vendor’s employees are properly trained and well-versed in different shielding specs.

“The buyer should hire a shielding company intimately familiar with all of the shielding requirements for particular magnet manufacturers,” Howard Newman, vice president of Universal Shielding Corp., wrote in response to a DOTmed News questionnaire. “This will ensure the shielded room is designed properly and meets all of the necessary requirements.”


Facilities should also inquire about where materials and specific MR-shielding components come from, advises Lou Campedelli, technical sales director with Nelco. “There are many, many companies out there doing RF shielding installations, but they’re smaller, regional types of groups that may not be manufacturing their components,” he says. “They’re buying these kits from suppliers and then doing the assemblies themselves. Those types of companies don’t have the backing to stand behind their product.”

Upgrade & service uptick
Today, a number of facilities employ shielding vendors for new installations but the shaky economy of the past few years has also generated a lot of interest in upgrades, repairs and modifications of existing RF shields.

ETS-Lindgren’s Turner says the company often gets phone calls from facilities that purchased a shield elsewhere but are now looking to switch out their MR system and thus need to modify the shield. “They go back to the company that provided the shielding and they don’t want to support them,” he says.

In Turner’s opinion, the shielding vendors currently shying away from the growing market of service support are making a big mistake. “They’re burning bridges with those customers,” he says.

But a decision whether to upgrade an existing RF room or go with a new installation shouldn’t be taken lightly. Michael Rachon, director and general manager with Imedco America, says the cost can be difficult to pin down in advance because different room designs will have different requirements met in order to be brought up to standards, “If it can even be brought up,” he cautions.

Buyers should not only compare the cost of new versus updated, but they should also be aware of peripherals — warranty, support and turnaround time for each option to be completed.

March 2011 Magazine

Read more stories from the March 2011 issue

More Industry Reports