Keeping pace with technology

At WJE, we’re passionate about healthcare architecture and design – in large part because there’s great satisfaction in designing environments that help doctors and nurses and med techs diagnose and treat illnesses and injuries.

For instance, we regularly design spaces that house incredibly sophisticated medical equipment – spaces that must meet exacting technical requirements, while also supporting the comfort of patients and the ability of healthcare professionals to do their jobs.

And it’s not enough to get it right the first time. We also have to think about the future. More than ever, we must design with an eye toward constantly changing technology.

Recently, WJE designed the space to house a 32-slice CT Scanner. When the client acquired a 64-slice scanner, our experience with the previous machine – and our assumption that new technologies are par for the course (sometimes in a very short time frame) – gave us the background and context to handle the project quickly and accurately.

Plus, because we only work with healthcare clients, what we learn from one project often comes in handy when another client acquires a similar piece of technology. Once you design spaces for ten CT scanners, you have a good idea what to expect from the next ten. We understand the key concerns and space requirements for this large and expensive piece of technology. We know who to talk to and what to ask to prevent problems before they happen.

Multi-slice CT scanners are just a single example of evolving technology among thousands I could choose from, but this branch of computed tomography is a great example of how technology never holds still. Last November, Phillips introduced a 256-slice CT Scanner the Brilliance iCT and Toshiba debuted a dynamic volume CT scanner that provides “4D” imaging the Aquilion ONE.

We look forward to helping our clients make the leap.

– Michael Andrascek