MRI Goggles to Improve Pediatric Patients’ Diagnostic Experience

Award: $49,225 over 1 year (2022-2023)
Project Lead: East Tennessee Children’s Hospital (ETCH)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a physically painless diagnostic tool used to identify and monitor the treatment of brain tumors and other diseases. However, MRI scans can be noisy and uncomfortable for restless, anxious, and claustrophobic patients. Keeping children still long enough to obtain quality images without sedation is often challenging. This grant will support the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital which will be offering noise-canceling, video goggles that provide a cinema experience for pediatric patients undergoing an MRI. The state-of-the-art goggles soothe anxious patients by dramatically reducing unexpected loud MRI gradient noise. During a potentially scary MRI scan, familiar sights and sounds are calming. MRI goggles let children watch age-appropriate entertainment or listen to music through their 45-minute to 3-hour scans. This valuable distraction minimizes the anxiety and boredom that makes it difficult for children to remain still.