Designing a Home for ZAP-X Technology on the Jersey Shore
Syska associate partner Tom Ford has worked with Erik Polyzou, Healthcare project manager at RSC Architects, on many projects for Hackensack Meridian Health throughout New Jersey. One of the most unusual was the design of the Dr. Robert H. and Mary Ellen Harris ZAP-X Center for Noninvasive Neurosurgery at the Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, NJ.
If you haven’t heard of ZAP-X before, it’s because the technology is new. As of today, there are only seven ZAP-X machines in the United States. But their role in cancer treatment is likely to grow significantly because ZAP-X technology enables non-invasive radiosurgery treatment of many types of brain tumors.
Upon seeing a photo of the 50-ton machine, one might assume that it created major obstacles for the design and engineering of the space surrounding it. But as it turns out, there were far fewer obstacles than Erik and Tom have experienced with other radiology projects.
As Erik explains, “Typically, radiology treatment equipment, such as a Linear Accelerator, must be placed in a concrete vault. But the ZAP-X machine is self-shielded, so this actually made the design easier.”
The same is true of the MEP engineering, says Tom. “With other kinds of radiology equipment, we have to use a circuitous route for ductwork. We had many more options with ZAP-X.”
“Typically, radiology treatment equipment, such as a Linear Accelerator, must be placed in a concrete vault. But the ZAP-X machine is self-shielded, so this actually made the design easier.”
Erik Polyzou, Healthcare Project Manager, RSC Architects
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, however. Because the technology is so new, the team had to work hand-in-hand with the manufacturer, whose installation guide evolved in tandem with the project. “It was a collaborative process with the manufacturer, who was learning as we were doing,” Erik notes.
Another complexity was the size and weight of the machine. “We had to phase the project and design walls that could be removed to get it into the building", he recalls.
But hard work and extensive coordination enabled RSC and Syska to surmount these challenges without too much difficulty. Ultimately, the team decided to showcase the technology in a glass-enclosed room. Today, anyone who enters the Hope Trower from the adjacent parking garage can walk past it and see the machine, unless a patient is undergoing treatment. In these instances, when privacy is paramount, staff can flip a switch causing the glass wall to go from transparent to opaque, completely obstructing the view of the patient and clinicians.
“It was a collaborative process with the manufacturer, who was learning as we were doing,”
Erik Polyzou, Healthcare Project Manager, RSC Architects
“Although we’re not doctors ourselves, it’s a wonderful feeling to know that we’re playing a part in helping the medical community improve patient outcomes.”
Tom Ford, Associate Partner, Syska
When the machine is visible, staff and visitors like to take pictures of it. Erik reports that it frequently trends on Instagram. “It’s a great way for people to see cutting-edge technology up close,” he says. Tom agrees, noting that “the project has been enormously successful from a design and engineering standpoint, but it also is raising awareness of important cancer-fighting advances.”
Erik and Tom have no time to rest on their laurels. They are hard at work on an infill project at another Hackensack Meridian Health building – this one at the Hackensack University Medical Center. “We really enjoy working with each other and with Hackensack Meridian Health,” says Tom. “Although we’re not doctors ourselves, it’s a wonderful feeling to know that we’re playing a part in helping the medical community improve patient outcomes.”