Another takes this idea one step further with an elevated display to accommodate larger conferences. Often, we end up turning reading room lights off completely because we can't work with existing lights. In collaboration with radiologists, computer scientists, and architects, Ratib used three-dimensional computer modeling and simulation techniques to create and evaluate different ergonomic designs for diagnostic workstations and radiology reading rooms. The computer simulation approach allows planning and evaluation of different designs before final decisions are made. Ratib revealed his prototypes, designed by RBB Architects of Los Angeles, in an infoRAD exhibit at November's RSNA meeting.
Privacy is important in the work environment.
Reading or dictating radiologists tend to be distracted by conferences going on right next to them. Traditionally, with workstation tables placed against the walls, people entering the room to consult one radiologist would disturb adjacent radiologists. By positioning the unit diagonally so it's not square with the walls, every workstation has a corner behind it, where people can stand during consultations without interfering with radiologists working in other quadrants. The project, motivated by space constraints and current suboptimal work environment, attempts to respond to management demands that more must be done with less space, or at least more in the same space.