Rocket ship helps French children become less afraid of MRI
Categories: Safety
MRI , or Magnetic Resonance Imaging, can be very intimating and scary especially for young children. I know some hospitals already have customized scanners for children that are equipped with special goggles so that they can watch their favorite DVD during the exam, or they can listen to a CD. But because it can be such a disturbing and difficult experience for children, some of them still need to be sedated and sometimes general anesthesia is required.
The Debrousse hospital in Lyon, France has decided to have a colorful rocket ship built to help kids become familiar with the MRI exam and reduce their anxiety and fear. Children from age 2 to 6 are laid down in the rocket for about 20 minutes and watch their favorite DVD with headphones playing the movie's sounds but also the MRI exam sounds.
If the simulation is successful, the child won't be sedated or have general anesthesia and will watch his favorite DVD again on the day of the exam. This is only a prototype in France but it has already helped a lot of children.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
W. H. Heydt 2-23-2007 @ 7:27PM
And at that, the medical field changed to name to keep it from scaring adults. The real name of the technique is "nuclear magnetic resonance", or NMR.
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Beth Hyatt 2-25-2007 @ 11:27PM
That is awesome. I hope to see this in the US soon. My son has had three MRIs due to a brain injury from Shaken Baby Syndrome. He has had general anesthesia every time and I'm always worried about that provoking his seizures. So far he has been fine, but it would be great to be able to do the testing without the anesthesia. So nice to see doctors who understand that kids have special needs.
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