"The customer needs to decide what type of shield he wants and if it is cost or quality driven. Not all shields are the same," says Profeta. "There are pros and cons with the different construction styles. Soldered copper shields are arguably the best method for quality and long-term reliability, provided the proper care is taken at all the penetrations. An owner needs to make an educated decision when selecting an RF room vendor and really needs to understand what they are buying and compare options. Dealing with the large shielding companies is not a guarantee that you are getting the best product for your project or money."

Mansfield says he runs into a higher failure rate with modular designs and that the long-term cost on soldered enclosures may end up being cheaper. "A lot of people are trying to stay alive, but they just don't understand how much maintenance goes into these modular rooms."


One benefit of the modular room is that it does not require a parent wall and may be the best option for hospitals that aren't planning to maintain an MRI for a long period of time. The advantage here is that you can take them down and move them quickly.

High-End Doors Now Becoming Standard

For the shielding industry the door is always a challenge. It's a delicate balance trying to maintain the integrity of the MR environment when people are constantly coming in and out.

"Pneumatic door systems allow easy door operation," says Turner. "Early concepts used gaskets. However, when a gasket fails the entire gasket must be replaced. Today, pneumatic cylinders provide greater reliability and easier servicing."

Shielding companies can also draw on each other's strengths. Mansfield says Professional Installations sells a lot of their high-end doors to competitors.

The Greatest Challenges to the Industry

The material and design involved in RF shielding has remained much the same with minimal modifications, but the education of customers and contractors is ongoing.

"Although there has been some improvement, there are still many bid packages that only partially describe the MR shielded enclosure," says Krachon. "This opens up areas of risk for the end-user since shielding suppliers are less likely to include important features unless they are called out in the specs."

Specifications pertaining to the structural integrity of RF and magnetic shielding and shield support, whether free-standing or connected to grids, and acoustic requirements are sometimes omitted from the plans and general contractors are left to interpret the situation on their own.

More Industry Reports