February 23, 2022 — The LEGO Foundation has announced it will donate 600 LEGO MRI Scanners to hospitals worldwide to help children cope with the uncertainty of having amagnetic resonance imaging(MRI) scan.
What started in 2015 as a passion project for LEGO employee Erik Ullerlund Staehr andOdense University Hospital, Denmark，现在正在扩大规模，试用新的医院员工培训材料。该团队开发了这套设备，作为一种帮助儿童在接受核磁共振扫描的过程中导航的方法。这套设备的设计是为了帮助儿童更好地与临床医生合作，并了解大型和复杂的核磁共振机器是关于什么的。
Erik Ullerlund Staehr, Chemical Technician at the LEGO Group said: "I’m extremely proud of this project and the positive impact it’s already had. I’ve seen first-hand how children have responded to these models; making them feel more relaxed and turning an often highly stressful experience into a positive, playful one. From making a few LEGO MRI models with other LEGO employees in our free time, it’s amazing to see the project now being rolled out more broadly.”
The LEGO MRI Scanner is developed with achild-centered focusand learning through play approach, which strengthens children’s skill development. The model is designed around the child’sMRI treatment, and is a means for clinicians to facilitate both role play and dialogue so that the child feels safe and can build confidence and resilience before the actual journey, in turn reducing stress and anxiety. Play motivates the child’s natural curiosity and openness to try new, sometimes difficult, experiences. Because play facilitates a safe and comfortable "training space" for real-life events and consequences, it is a powerful way for children to develop their social and emotional skills. It can also be a part of a range of playful experiences that contribute to clinicians' ambition of reducing the use of anesthesia.
Since the first prototype was made, the radiology department team at Odense University Hospital have used the LEGO MRI Scanners as part of their playful learning approach to help over 200 children aged four to nine annually.
丹麦欧登塞大学医院放射科的Ulla Jensen说:“核磁共振扫描仪是巨大的机器。它们还会发出很多噪音，这对孩子来说是非常可怕的。我们的团队发现，对许多孩子来说，使用像乐高积木这样的模型能带来更积极、更平静的体验。这对孩子、他们的家庭以及MRI扫描的质量都有好处，MRI扫描需要患者在一个小时内保持静止。”
Reaching More Children
由于埃里克和他的衷心奉献，全世界近100家医院已经受益于乐高核磁共振扫描仪的使用。该项目受到了极大的欢迎，为了创造更大的影响，更好地把握其潜力，乐高基金会现在正在扩大该项目，并鼓励世界各地的医院申请目前可用的600个模型之一。这些模型由乐高志愿者制作，将完全免费运送到医院。一旦分发出去，LEGO基金会将从参与的医院获得见解，以继续建立循证研究，并反过来指导潜在的未来项目。
To best support the use of LEGO MRI Scanners, the LEGO Foundation has developedfour training videosto accompany the model. These videos are designed to help medical staff guide children through the process of an MRI scan – and in turn, facilitate their social and emotional learning through play. The videos are available free of charge to any hospital wanting to learn more about the approach.
This videogives an introduction to the LEGO MRI model and accompanying training material.
Dorthe Feveile Kjerkegaard, Play & Health Specialist at the LEGO Foundation added:“MRI scans can be scary, anxiety-inducing experiences for all of us, but especially so for children. Through a playful learning approach, such as the LEGO MRI Scanner, we’ve been able to take children through the process step by step to prepare them for what’s to come, and in turn, help them to feel safe by making the unknown, known. The feedback so far has been overwhelming. We’re honoured to be able to help both children and their parents have a more positive and less stressful experience, and look forward to supporting even more families around the world with the expansion of this concept.”
The LEGO Foundation will donate 600 models to the first 600 eligible applicants. Applicants must be based in a radiology department at a hospital, with an existing MRI scanning facility for use with children and adolescents. To access the request form visit:https://learningthroughplay.com/lego-mri-scanner-models.
The model comes with close to 500 elements and measures 13cm wide, 25,5cm long and 10,5cm high.
For more information:www.learningthroughplay.com
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