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New Hampshire open MRI brings innovative
radiology options to the upper valley
By Jack degange
Photos by John douglas/Flying Squirrel |
Todd Kummer had an innovative plan in mind when he
leased the property identified as Suite 4, at 8
Commerce Avenue at the Lebanon Airpark.
He’s turned a warehouse-like building into the home
of New Hampshire Open MRI, where patients feel like
they’re walking into a comfortable living room when
they arrive for a diagnostic MRI (magnetic resonance
imaging) scan.
“Our objective is to provide service and comfort in
an environment that’s different from a hospital or a
doctor’s office,” said Kummer, who launched this
business in 2007 to provide a service in the Upper
Valley that would otherwise require patients to
travel to Concord, Burlington, or beyond.
“Ten to twenty percent of the population is either
claustrophobic or simply too large to fit
comfortably into a high-field MRI scanner.”
The new home of NH Open MRI is a far cry from the
utilitarian office-storage facility used recently by
a series of businesses working on construction
projects near the Lebanon Municipal Airport.
Open MRI scanning technology isn’t new. It’s been
around for about 20 years and is constantly being
improved. (The scanner at NH Open MRI is less than
five years old and previously was used at a medical
facility in Missouri.) Open MRI differs from
tunnel-type, high-field MRI scanners, like those
used at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and other
hospitals. Open MRI scanning allows the patient to
feel less enclosed and confined, though they also
involve a slightly longer timeframe to complete a
scan.
High-field scanners often can complete two or more
scans in an hour, a consideration for a hospital
that’s serving both inpatient and outpatient needs,
but they also require the addition of specialized
cooling equipment.
Open MRI technology serves anyone but is especially
beneficial for certain patients. “Ten to twenty
percent of the population is either claustrophobic
or simply too large to fit comfortably into a
high-field MRI scanner,” Kummer said. “We want to
put the patient at ease.” Open MRI scanning provides
an alternative. The cost, by either technology, is
comparable.
“After the suite was framed, sheets of copper were
glued to drywall, soldered together, and then
encased in a second sheet of drywall.”
A high-field scanner is about 52 inches in diameter.
A large person, or a child, may not realize he or
she is claustrophobic. When they lay on the bed that
slides into the tube of a high-field MRI, they can
become very nervous. The open MRI addresses this
concern.
The open MRI unit, or scanner, consists of two large
magnets, an antenna, and a computer. During an exam,
the patient lies on a sliding bed that positions the
area of the body to be scanned directly between the
magnets. Hydrogen atoms in the patient’s body
receive radio signals from the MRI unit. These
signals, which are totally harmless, are returned
from the body and processed by the computer into an
algorithmic image. Images are printed onto film or
stored digitally to help a physician plan the
treatment for an injury or illness.
Patient comfort and service is what Kummer had in
mind when he selected Trumbull-Nelson to work with
him to perform a dramatic makeover of the suite at 8
Commerce Park. “They had good experience building a
facility like the one I wanted to create.”
His background in this technology over the past 15
years led him to establish a business that addresses
a national trend toward outpatient treatment and
diagnostic services. According to Kummer, in many
areas of the United States, facilities like NH Open
MRI can be found in shopping malls and other retail
areas. As he searched for a place to locate his
business, Kummer decided the site near the airport
offered the best combination of patient convenience
(parking as well as accessibility to two
interstates) and rental cost (commercial space costs
less than retail space) in the area.
The building at the Airpark is attractive since
parking requires only about a 20-step walk to the
Reception Waiting Area that has been designed to
look like a living room, complete with a gas
fireplace and wood paneling.
Trumbull-Nelson started by removing all of the
previous finish work of the existing offices beyond
the reception area. They expanded two lavatories
into larger changing rooms for patients, and rebuilt
a kitchen and a conference room.
“For a scan, we provide patients with T-shirts
and shorts that they take with them,” said
Kummer. “Considering medical issues that a
patient may be dealing with, no detail is too
small. We’ve created a facility that is open and
comfortable, where the patient can relax. We
also coordinate with the patient’s doctor,
handling the details and paperwork, and
eliminate the feeling of being part of a medical
assembly line.”
The feeling extends to the large suite that houses
the MRI scanner. But this room comes with a
difference that’s hidden within the walls and
presented Trumbull-Nelson with an unusual challenge:
The walls, ceiling, and floor are completely encased
with copper shielding.
A scanner is susceptible to external radio
frequencies that can distort images involving bone,
tissue, blood, and ligaments, all having different
densities that are defined during the scan to create
the diagnostic image. The copper shield protects
against random radio signals that can distort
images.
After the suite was framed, sheets of copper were
glued to drywall, soldered together, and then
encased in a second sheet of drywall. The window
between the technician’s room and the MRI suite uses
a special glass that also eliminates radio
interference. And all electrical and air
conditioning service has been installed with special
filters. The scanning suite also required
installation of new air conditioning equipment to
maintain uniform temperature and humidity.
“Todd knew what he wanted and needed,” said Ed
Friedman of Trumbull-Nelson. “We worked with him to
create the CAD drawings, and site superintendents
Rob White and Roger White managed teams from
Defiance Electric and ARC Mechanical Contractors, as
well as our painting staff, to deliver the finished
results and insure we met all Code requirements.”
Whenever possible Kummer wanted to patronize
other local businesses, so he walked next door
to Upper Valley Carpet Center for the carpeting
and hardwood flooring that now adds to the
home-like décor of the facility.
Presently, NH Open MRI is using little more than
half the space it has leased for this new
enterprise. There’s room to grow as Kummer
develops a business designed to serve a market
that reaches well beyond the retail-commercial
hub centered at Exit 20 of I-89.
And, as John Hochreiter, manager of HSD, LLC,
which owns the building, noted, “Todd has done a
spectacular job to add to the quality of this
property.”
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