Center for Advanced MRI

1.5T Start Up Procedure

1. A key for the magnet room can be found on the safety magnet located at the back of the control for the 1.5T.
2. Press the “System On” button located on the Siemens box on the wall.
3. Go into the magnet room and disconnect any coils that are plugged in to the scanner table.
4. Position the scanner bed in its home position, raised all the way and out of the magnet.
5. The entire scanner start up procedure takes 20 to 25 minutes from complete power off. This includes 15 minutes for the RF amplifier to warm up.
6. During the start up procedure, you should see numbers counting down on the monitor.
7. When the countdown is over, the system is still not ready but you should see the exam task screen. At this point, you are able to review images and interact with the operating system but you cannot scan. The RF amplifier is starting to warm up.
8. To review start up progress, go to the top tool bar and choose “System Control.”
9. Choose the “Image Recon System” tab. Everything should be running.
10. Choose the “MR Scanner” tab: GPAK, RFPA, PALI, STIMO will not be “OK.” All others should be running. The scanner is bringing hardware components online. Wait. Do not move the scanner table or plug coils into table.
11. You will hear three to four consecutive “champagne pop” sounds. The GPAK, RFPA, PALI and STIMO should change to “OK.” You can now scan.
12. It is a good idea to run a phantom with your imaging protocol for 10 to 15 minutes before you collect real data to make sure the hardware is warmed up and stable.
13. If the monitor displays a box that says “Restart,” click it. You do not have to press the “System On” button on the wall again, but you still have to wait 15 to 20 minutes for the components to come online.

1.5T Shut Down Procedure

1. Bring the scanner table all the way out and leave it all the way up (the table home position).
2. Unplug any coils from the scanner table.
3. Turn off the lights in the magnet room.
4. Lock the magnet room door and return key to its place on the safety magnet at the back of the control room.
5. Go to the top tool bar and choose: “System” -> “End” -> “Shutdown.”
6. This is a five-minute procedure as the computer shuts down the Siemens operating system and prepares the computer to be turned off.
7. Once you get the box that says it is safe to turn of the computer, you can push the “System Off” button on the wall power box.
8. Do not press “Standby.”
9. DO NOT press the red button (magnet quench button) behind the plastic cover.

1.5T Troubleshooting

Verify that the system will not work by re-running the “Scout/Localizer” protocol. If it works, the system is working and your sequence/protocol is corrupt. If it fails, then follow the procedures below to determine the source of the error.

There are three main components of the MR system:

1. HOST COMPUTER
2. IMAGE RECONSTRUCTION COMPUTER
3. MR SCANNER

You can check the components’ status by going to the “System Manager” interface at the top of the toolbar via the SYSTEM CONTROL option. Choose “System Manager.”

The first tab describes the HOST COMPUTER. The first five applications should be running (green). The other applications may or may not be started depending on what programs you are running. These are not system critical. If one of the first five is not running, or you think that one of the programs should be running, click on it and this will restart the application. If that does not solve the problem, then you should restart the Siemens Syngo application. If that does not fix the problem then you need to reboot the HOST COMPUTER.

The second tab describes the IMAGE RECONSTRUCTION COMPUTER status. Everything in the IMAGE RECONSTRUCTION tab should be running. If one application is not running (red) you can click on it to restart it. If that does not solve the problem, then you should reboot the image reconstruction computer located on this tab. If that does not fix the problem then you need to reboot the HOST.

The third tab describes the MR SCANNER status. You can choose the application that is not running (red) and reboot it. This will take two to five minutes, depending on the specific application. If the problem is with the GPAK, RFPA, PALI, STIMO this usually indicates that the patient safety monitoring has been triggered. It needs to be reset. You should remove the subject from the magnet and return the table to its home position, all the way up and all the way out of the magnet. Disconnect any coils plugged into the table. Reboot the scanner by selecting ”System” -> “End” -> “Reboot Host” from the main toolbar. This will take about 15 to 20 minutes. You should hear the three “champagne pops” indicating that the system is ready. If you see a red line through any of the icons at the bottom of the screen, this indicates a problem. You should check on the error by clicking the item and reading the description. It should indicate what to do.