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LEGO has produced a set featuring a hospital room with an MRI scanner, and has donated 10,000 sets to more than 400 hospitals around the world
The company aims to help kids feel safer and more in control “by giving them the opportunity to explore, ask questions, and play their way through a medical procedure”
More than one million children have played with the hospital-based set; research conducted by LEGO found that it helped reduce the need for sedation or anesthesia by nearly 50%
LEGO is helping sick children struggling with anxiety and stress — through play.
The Danish toymaker has donated 10,000 models of an MRI set — which features an MRI scanner and equipment, plus a waiting room, along with minifigures — to 432 hospitals in 13 countries to ease the worries of children about to undergo an MRI.
While MRIs are often preferred for children because they don’t use radiation, the tight, enclosed space and noisy, intimidating sounds can cause anxiety, often requiring kids to be sedated or even put under anesthesia.
“By giving children the opportunity to explore, ask questions, and play their way through a medical procedure, we’re helping them feel safer and more in control,” Diana Ringe Krogh, Vice President and Head of Social Responsibility, said in a press release from LEGO.”
Getty
Stock image of an MRI machine.
According to research commissioned by LEGO, 96% of healthcare professionals surveyed said the model helped children who were struggling with anxiety around getting an MRI, and nearly half (46%) said the model reduced the need for sedation. More than a million children were given access to the set before a test, LEGO says statement.
“Early results show that the vast majority of children can be MRI scanned without general anesthesia, reducing their risks and discomfort, while allocating resources for other patients,” Jannie Bøge Steinmeier Larsen, a Project Radiographer at Denmark’s Aarhus University Hospital, said in the press release from LEGO. “Families feel their child is seen and heard.”
Rachel, a mom from Edinburgh whose five-year-old daughter Ivy was struggling with seizures, shared that the set helped Ivy manage her stress around undergoing an MRI without sedation.
“Ivy did really well and was even a bit excited! If we hadn’t played with the LEGO MRI model beforehand, I think she would have had a full meltdown and would no doubt have needed general anesthetic,” Rachel said in the release. “Nobody wants their child to be put to sleep if you can avoid it.”
Lego
LEGO has donated thousands of MRI sets to hospitals.
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As Ivy herself said to LEGO, “I liked playing with the LEGO toy. It made me feel relaxed. I didn’t like the loud noises in the real machine. But I knew what was happening. I wasn’t scared. I was brave.”
The MRI set is not available for commercial sale. More information on the LEGO set is available on the LEGO website.
Read the original article on People