Magnetic resonance imaging is one of the most used techniques in medicine today. Around 10 percent of the patients at UCSF, mostly children, need to be brought back to the clinic for additional imaging. In order to ease anxiety in kids, UCSF has redecorated the MRI suites into story -like settings which would allow children to imagine themselves driving a trolley or being captain of a ship while being scanned. Hopefully, kids will feel more comfortable as they go into the MRI machine. If they are more relaxed, they won’t move around as much, which would greatly improve image quality used for more accurate diagnoses.

Not only does the hospital offer more hospitable imaging facilities, but it also offers kids the option of watching a movie while inside the MRI machine. Using non-magnetic parts, Cinemavision allows the patient to wear an eyepiece and headset to enjoy entertainment while lying still on the MRI table. Overall, UCSF hopes to decrease the number of patients that need to be anesthetized, sedated, or to go back for extra imaging sessions.

source:ucsf.edu