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Lauren Dubinsky, Senior Reporter | September 28, 2015
From the September 2015 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
5. Fix coil and RF errors
You should refrain from using coils that exhibit coil and/or RF errors because it will put the patients at risk if coils unknowingly aren’t properly tuned and detuned. It may also cause component damage or component degradation in the coil, which will lead to premature failure or degraded image quality. Woodcock says that recurring errors must be reported to your service representative for further troubleshooting, to prevent intermittent problems from becoming permanent problems.
6. Maintain a log of RF/coil-related errors
Errors should be reported that indicate the coil being used and the type of scan, so that the problems that are common to certain coils or coil paths can be correlated. That way issues can be resolved before the problems escalate in severity and frequency, says Woodcock.
7. Maintenance
The engineer who is performing the maintenance should be checking the signal-to-noise ratio. Woodcock recommends that they look at images on multiple coils in order to spot artifacts in the background. The condition of the connectors also needs to be checked. If there is any damage or there are errors, the connectors need to be replaced or straightened so that it doesn’t spread throughout the system.
8. Routine cleaning
The technician usually cleans the coils and the engineer is responsible for cleaning the port and plug end. If those parts aren’t cleaned, they get tarnished over time and the connection starts to diminish. “It’s really important to keep up to date with plug and port maintenance,” says Vartanian. “You really don’t want to be cleaning something that small after it’s been tarnished. If you keep up on the maintenance and cleaning, they operate very well.”
9. Clean with the proper solution
Coils, external pads and the cable assembly should be wiped down with a bleach and water solution or rubbing alcohol with a soft cotton cloth. Solvents that dull or damage the finish of the coils and the pads should be avoided. The MR tables should also be cleaned so that the rubber pads at the bottom of the coils adhere to the table.
10. Proper training for MR technicians
The MR technicians need to be properly trained on how to use and transport the coil. They must be taught not to carry flexible coils by the flexible part of the coil assembly, and also not to carry the coil by the cable or yank the cable away from the coil interface. They should also never try to scan without the coil first being plugged in because that can cause major damage in some types of coils.
“In the end, MR coils are no different than any other device in that if you keep them clean, handle them with care and do some periodic maintenance to them, they will last a long time,” says Blawat.
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