Rad Room Site Plan Checklist

State of Rad and R/F Rooms Today

In 1897 X-rays were used on battle fields during the Balkan war to find bullets imbedded in soldiers. Over 125 years later, plain x-ray images are still being used in hospitals world-wide to visualize bones, soft tissues and other human structures. Even with the advances in medical imaging such as C.T., Nuclear Medicine, MRI, etc. plain film technology still has a place in a hospital’s imaging departments. This means plain film technology has to fit into the future of Radiology.

Purchasing a Rad Room comes with many aspects to consider, such as cost, space, equipment, and an efficient rad room site plan. You can see all the associated costs here. In this blog, we will go over what good Rad and R/F Rooms must have to maintain an efficient workflow.

Is Your Rad Room Site Plan Ready for the Future? 

Since the pandemic, Rad room site plans must develop ways to keep the staff and patients safe during fluoroscopic and radiographic procedures. Remote control table and fluoroscopy switches inside the control room, are some of the adaptations to rad rooms. Ceiling mounted face shields, and wall mounted hand sanitizers are other ways to keep the room clean and disease-free.  

Rad Room Site Plan Checklist

1. A large control room with ample counter space for computers, recording equipment and PAC’s stations
2. Large floor plans in the procedure room to accommodate hospital beds and wheelchairs.
3. Bathrooms inside the procedure room
4. Changing rooms equipped with lockers
5. High Double doors leading into the rooms to accommodate IV poles and respirators
6. Locked cabinets for needles, contrast, and other supplies
7. Cabinets for linen, masks, gowns, and face shields
8.  Sinks mounted in large counter tops for mixing/washing basins for barium and other contrast media
9. Lead apron hangers  
10. Good lighting w/dimmer switches inside the control and procedural rooms.
11. Lead lined walls and windows
12. Non-skid flooring and padded mats
13. Installed mounts for Suction and oxygen lines
14. Multiple entry points to the room for emergencies
15. Panic buttons for security
16. Wall mounted hand sanitizers

Finally, make sure the rad room site plan allows for the addition of artificial intelligence which is getting more common place in radiology departments.  

Radiation Safety in the Rad Room Site Plan

The more human exposure your system will be getting, the more lead lining will be required. The best way to find out about lead lining requirements is by calling your state’s radiology health department. You can find your state’s radiology health department information here.

Determine the size generator you’ll need.” Think about the types of procedures and the size of patients you’ll be performing procedures on, such as UGI, LGI, Myelograms, and voiding cysto grams. Some of these procedures use more than five minutes of fluoro .

Converting from Analog To Digital

There are budget friendly options for Rad fluoro rooms with film-based technology. Upgrading Rad Rooms to digital is not always an inexpensive proposition. The least expensive way to go digital is to take an existing analog radiographic room and use Computer Radiographic (CR) cassettes.

Remember, refurbished doesn’t mean subpar equipment. The same image quality can be achieved with refurbished equipment and prepare your department for the digital age of radiology.

How Amber Diagnostics Can Help with Rad Room Site Plans

Let Amber’s 27 years of experience in moving, de-installing, and re-installing digital imaging devices help you plan the ideal rad room site.

Imagine no more film and no more toxic chemicals to deal with. In the long run,  CR technology will save money on film and processing equipment. Dark rooms can be converted to other functional spaces such as changing or break rooms.

Amber Diagnostics can install and incorporate Digital “DR” Plate(s) and a Digital Workstation with your existing system, which will take you straight into the digital age at the fraction of the cost of a new system.

Here at Amber, we offer full set of plans and drawings that reflect your specific dimensions. This includes the electrical and mechanical specifications.

Give us a call and let’s get started on your rad room site plan today. Our experienced engineers are eagerly awaiting to get your rad room underway.