The intra-operative MRI system at the United Hospital Nasseff Neuroscience Center in St. Paul, Minn., will allow neurosurgeons to perform real-time MRI scans during operations to confirm that all cancerous tissue is removed during procedures. |
11. Operating Room-Integrated MRI will Help Neurosurgeons Get it Right the First Time
A major limitation of traditional brain cancer surgery is the lack of scanning capability in the operating room. Neurosurgeons do their best to visually identify and remove the cancerous tissue, but only an MRI scan will confirm if the operation was a complete success or not. Consequently, patients must be stitched up and wheeled into the MRI room for further scans. If cancer is still present, further surgery is often required.
To avoid putting its patients through this painful cycle of surgeries and scans, the United Hospital Nasseff Neuroscience Center in St. Paul, Minn., is collaborating with HDR Architecture on an intra-operative MRI system. This "MRI on a track" will be able to move between two operating rooms and spin in any direction, allowing neurosurgeons to perform real-time MRI scans during operations.
"The neurosurgeon can use the intra-operative MRI to confirm that the entire tumor was removed before closing, thus reducing the need for additional operations," says Douglas S. Wignall, AIA, RAIC, international healthcare director with HDR Architecture, Omaha, Neb. In addition, Wignall says the mobility of the system allows the neurosurgeon to update images quickly and efficiently so that surgical adjustments and decisions can be made with pinpoint accuracy.
"This is one example of how architecture can help save lives," says Wignall.
The new SYNC modular nursing station line from Nurture by Steelcase is designed to accommodate both centralized and decentralized spaces. |
12. Nursing Stations Go Modular
Modular nursing stations are designed to accommodate virtually any healthcare environment, whether for centralized or decentralized spaces, standard or high-tech facilities, or new or retrofit projects. HDR Architecture collaborated with Nurture by Steelcase on the SYNC line, which was inspired by the way people fit in cockpits and automobiles. It accommodates multiple users, heights, and movements.
The centralized solution is offered in three fixed heights—28½, 36, and 42 inches—to provide seated, service counter, and standing solutions. Widths are available in one-foot increments from five to nine feet, and integrated monitor arms have 160-degree adjustability for sharing information between caregivers. The product sits elevated off the floor, creating a light, minimalistic look.
The decentralized products provide height-adjustable (23 to 48 inches), fixed, or combination surfaces in eight shapes. Two-person configurations allow each work surfa
ce to be adjusted individually.
A. Secondary MOB. B. MOB. C. Hospital. D. Nursing units. E. Signature entry rotunda. F. Future construction, including hospital expansion, additional MOB, clinic, and parking. G. Future helipad. |
13. Template Helps Hospitals Open Quickly and Efficiently
Faced with the unprecedented task of having to replace half its California hospital beds by 2015, Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest nonprofit HMO, enlisted SmithGroup and Chong Partners Architecture (now Stantec Architecture) to collaborate on the design of a new hospital template—a state-of-the-art, prototypical hospital that could be built on many different sites with only minimal changes to the basic concept for quick and efficient construction.
Luckily, the team wasn't starting from scratch. Over the years Kaiser had developed best-practices templates for emergency departments, patient rooms, and other individual clinical spaces and those pieces were combined into a single configuration for an entire hospital. The resulting template consists of common planning concepts, floor plans, equipment and furnishings, and structural and building systems. Exterior skins and colors vary from site to site. So far Kaiser has built five hospitals using the template, which shaved 15 to 18 months off its typical new hospital timeline.
Related Stories
| Jan 19, 2011
Baltimore mixed-use development combines working, living, and shopping
The Shoppes at McHenry Row, a $117 million mixed-use complex developed by 28 Walker Associates for downtown Baltimore, will include 65,000 sf of office space, 250 apartments, and two parking garages. The 48,000 sf of main street retail space currently is 65% occupied, with space for small shops and a restaurant remaining.
| Jan 19, 2011
Biomedical research center in Texas to foster scientific collaboration
The new Health and Biomedical Sciences Center at the University of Houston will facilitate interaction between scientists in a 167,000-sf, six-story research facility. The center will bring together researchers from many of the school’s departments to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects. The facility also will feature an ambulatory surgery center for the College of Optometry, the first of its kind for an optometry school. Boston-based firms Shepley Bulfinch and Bailey Architects designed the project.
| Jan 19, 2011
San Diego casino renovations upgrade gaming and entertainment
The Sycuan Casino in San Diego will get an update with a $27 million, 245,000-sf renovation. Hnedak Bobo Group, Memphis, Tenn., and Cleo Design, Las Vegas, drew design inspiration from the historic culture of the Sycuan tribe and the desert landscape, creating a more open space with better circulation. Renovation highlights include a new “waterless” water entry feature and new sports bar and grill, plus updates to gaming, poker, off-track-betting, retail, and bingo areas. The local office of San Francisco-based Swinerton Builders will provide construction services.
| Jan 19, 2011
Extended stay hotel aims to provide comfort of home
Housing development company Campus Apartments broke ground on a new extended stay hotel that will serve the medical and academic facilities in Philadelphia’s University City, including the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The 11,000-sf hotel will operate under Hilton’s Homewood Suites brand, with 136 suites with full kitchens and dining and work areas. A part of the city’s EnergyWorks loan program, the project aims for LEED with a green roof, low-flow fixtures, and onsite stormwater management. Local firms Alesker & Dundon Architects and GC L.F. Driscoll Co. complete the Building Team.
| Jan 19, 2011
New Fort Hood hospital will replace aging medical center
The Army Corps of Engineers selected London-based Balfour Beatty and St. Louis-based McCarthy to provide design-build services for the Fort Hood Replacement Hospital in Texas, a $503 million, 944,000-sf complex partially funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The firm plans to use BIM for the project, which will include outpatient clinics, an ambulance garage, a central utility plant, and three parking structures. Texas firms HKS Architects and Wingler & Sharp will participate as design partners. The project seeks LEED Gold.
| Jan 19, 2011
Museum design integrates Greek history and architecture
Construction is under way in Chicago on the National Hellenic Museum, the nation’s first museum devoted to Greek history and culture. RTKL designed the 40,000-sf limestone and glass building to include such historic references as the covered walkway of classical architecture and the natural wood accents of Byzantine monasteries. The museum will include a research library and oral history center, plus a 3,600-sf rooftop terrace featuring three gardens. The project seeks LEED Silver.
| Jan 19, 2011
Architecture Billings Index jumped more than 2 points in December
On the heels of its highest mark since 2007, the Architecture Billings Index jumped more than two points in December. The American Institute of Architects reported the December ABI score was 54.2, up from a reading of 52.0 the previous month.
| Jan 19, 2011
Large-Scale Concrete Reconstruction Solid Thinking
Driven by both current economic conditions and sustainable building trends, Building Teams are looking more and more to retrofits and reconstruction as the most viable alternative to new construction. In that context, large-scale concrete restoration projects are playing an important role within this growing specialty.
| Jan 10, 2011
Architect Jean Nouvel designs an island near Paris
Abandoned by carmaker Renault almost 20 years ago, Seguin Island in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, is being renewed by architect Jean Nouvel. Plans for the 300,000-square-meter project includes a mix of culture, commerce, urban parks, and gardens, which officials hope will attract both Parisians and tourists.