Cairns Hospital paediatric occupational therapist Holly Webster with Harvey, checking out the Lego MRI set.
They say life’s better with Lego, which may be true for our youngest patients requiring MRI scans.
Cairns Hospital has been chosen as one of 600 hospitals across the globe to receive an official Lego model of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner, from the Lego Foundation.
The donated model, which is about the size of a shoebox, is designed to help children in the hospital cope with the uncertainty of having an MRI scan by taking them through the process step-by-step, to prepare them for what’s to come.
The model comes with nearly 500 elements and details the MRI process with mini figurines from the waiting room through to the actual MRI machine.
The donation comes with a collection of videos created to support medical staff in guiding children through the process.
Dr Lachlan Gordon, Cairns Hospital’s Acting Director of Medical and Emergency Services, said the donated set would be well-used by teams in the hospital’s Paediatric Unit and Medical Imaging.
‘MRI scanners are very important tools for us, giving clinicians detailed images from inside a patient’s body,’ he said.
‘However, because of their immense size, having an MRI scan can be a daunting experience, particularly for children.
‘Being able to explain the steps and the purposes of a scan, through the simplicity and familiarity of a Lego set will help them understand this vital part of their patient journey.’