Health Imaging & IT - December 2008 - (Page 22)

PeoPLe & TeChnoLogy By Justine Cadet Methodology As with most construction projects, starting from scratch is usually the best and easiest way. But most often when it comes to radiology reading rooms, renovations are in the plan for hospitals and radiology practices requiring providers to alter a space within the confines of an existing physical structure, says according to William N. Bernstein, AIA, principal of Architecture for Radiology, in New York City. Radiology practices often need to make alterations when they outgrow their current space, add more staff or especially when they add PACS. Whether the project is in a new or renovated space, Bernstein suggests that the reading room considerations are the same, including: understanding the workflow within the reading environment, such as the desire for privacy versus collaboration; lighting; acoustics; HVAC; along with materials and colors. Comparing a private to a collaborative image reading environment becomes particularly relevant in an academic teaching hospital, where the reading of images often takes place in a group setting with residents. Bill Rostenberg, AIA, director of research at Anshen + Allen in San Francisco, offers a similar methodology for reading room project planning, adding on the priorities of structural space, ergonomics and connectivity. Illuminating READING ROOM DESIGN ”Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light.” The turn of the century, Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier seems to understand the considerations of radiology reading room design, especially its dependence on proper lighting constructs. for Better Reading Strategies Let there be light Lighting is key because of the effect it can have on the occupants of the reading room. Rostenberg sees lighting as the most important consideration in the design because of the evolution to reading soft-copy images; however, he notes that with flat-panel monitors, some of the reflection complications have become easier to solve. The misconception of a completely dark room also has been disproven. “There is much more pressure to read more and more images, more quickly and more accurately in today’s reading [environment] due to the emergence of volume and dynamic quality certain modalities, like CT and MRI, which produce both 2D HealthImaging.com [ 3D archectural rendering of a radiological reading room design from Architecture for Radiology, LLP. ] 22 Health Imaging & IT | December 2008 http://www.HealthImaging.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Health Imaging & IT - December 2008

Health Imaging & IT - December 2008 Table of Contents The Enterprise News Update Technology at Work: What You Need to Compete Why 1.5T MRI is Leading the Pack Workflow Strategies Aid Advanced Visualization Deployment Illuminating Reading Room Design for Better Reading Strategies Cardiac SPECT Sharpens its Focus OrthoPACS: The Information Backbone of the Orthopedic Clinic Imaging Tools Reader's Resource

Health Imaging & IT - December 2008

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