The LEGO Foundation donates MRI models to hospitals
Posted by CapnRex101,
Following the model's emergence last month, the LEGO Foundation has announced the donation of 600 MRI scanner models to numerous hospitals around the world.
The press release and link for hospitals to apply to receive a model follows:
The LEGO Foundation to donate LEGO MRI Scanners to hospitals globally
The LEGO Foundation has announced it will donate 600 LEGO MRI Scanners to hospitals worldwide to help children cope with the uncertainty of having a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan.
What started in 2015 as a passion project for LEGO employee Erik Ullerlund Staehr and Odense University Hospital, Denmark, is now being scaled and piloted with new training material for hospital staff. The team developed the sets as a way to help children navigate the often daunting and intimidating process of having an MRI scan. The sets are designed to help children better collaborate with clinicians and understand what the large and complex MRI machine is all about.
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 a child-centred focus and learning through play approach, which strengthens children’s skill development. The model is designed around the child’s MRI 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 anaesthesia.
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.
Ulla Jensen from the Department of Radiology at Odense University Hospital Denmark said: “MRI Scanners are huge machines. They also make a lot of noise which can be very daunting for children. Our team have found that use of models such as the LEGO model has led to more positive, calm experiences for many children. This benefits the child, their family and also the quality of the MRI scan, which relies on the person being very still for up to an hour to work.”
REACHING MORE CHILDREN
Close to 100 hospitals across the world have already benefitted from the use of the LEGO MRI Scanner thanks to Erik and his heartfelt dedication. The project has been extremely well received and in order to create even bigger impact and better grasp of its potential, the LEGO Foundation is now scaling the project and encouraging hospitals from all over the world to apply for one of the 600 models currently available. Built by LEGO volunteers, the models will be shipped completely free of charge to hospitals. Once distributed, the LEGO Foundation will generate insights from participating hospitals to continue building evidence-based research and in turn guide potential future projects.
To best support the use of LEGO MRI Scanners, the LEGO Foundation has developed four training videos to 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 video gives 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 sage 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.
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66 comments on this article
What a fantastic idea and initiative.
Fun visual aids! This would have taken my mind of any procedure and start thinking how I would try to build this when I get back home.
Ah, who am I kidding? I still think like this. ;-)
Very cute and compassionate!
That kid is gonna smash his head into the scanner.
@theCommunIst_revelation said:
"That kid is gonna smash his head into the scanner."
That's his plan- knock himself unconscious, then sleep through the procedure!
I just forwarded this page to my friend, who is a radiographer. I hope she gets one of these sets. I'll help her build it, before she takes it into work :-)
I wish that they would sell these and use the proceeds to donate more.
What a brilliant project. A scary enough machine for adults, let alone children.
They should sell these and give the profits to childrens hospital charities. Pretty sure they'd sell thousands.
@GrizBe said:
"They should sell these and give the profits to childrens hospital charities. Pretty sure they'd sell thousands. "
Just about to suggest such a thing, get it on Lego Ideas...…. or Lego supply at cost and the Hospitals Sell them in the hospitals for the profit which goes locally.
Can I get one at work? We need seven, six for each of our scanner locations... and one for me to take home! :P
I can safely say these machines can certainly be anxiety inducing even for adults. This is such a fantastic idea and makes me really happy! Next time I go for a scan I am going to keep an eye open for this set :)
All I’ll say is that the kid going into the machine should be wearing headphones for listening to music while undergoing the scan. I always ask for 80’s cheese :D
the hospital I work at received a few of these while it was in the prototype phase. It's a wonderful model and the Play Therapists here get great use out of them, preparing kids for their MRI session.
Has LEGO, or will they, post the instructions, so we can build them at home if we happen to have the parts?
Cool idea but the grey plate coloring consistency needs work.
Nice move but I have to say that colour differences on that grey base look brutal, what happened to LEGO's quality?
Would be a nice VIP reward.
@GrizBe:I know I'd buy one.
Great job LEGO!
Will the instructions be available online?
Sic layers of plates.. what is going on over there?!
I just can't help but think most hospitals are going to be wondering what the hell they're going to do with these models. They would much rather have actual working machines
Interestingly the QR on the 2x2 tile in the video links to the sound of the MRI: https://qrs.ly/hharubf
@Zeoxzy said:
"I just can't help but think most hospitals are going to be wondering what the hell they're going to do with these models. They would much rather have actual working machines"
It was explained fairly thoroughly in the article, and every other comment also seems to get it. Donating a $50 set isn't the same thing as donating a working MRI machine, and donating a working MRI machine achieves none of the stated goals of helping lessen childrens' fear in the process, helping them learn, or reducing the need for anesthetics. Also, you have to apply for this program, so I'd imagine these hospitals will have a very good idea of what the hell they're going to do with these models. That's also assuming they don't watch any of the very short and simple videos explaining exactly what the models help with.
General public: Great idea! What a fun and engaging way to help kids through a challenging experience!
AFOL: Looks like part 6213792 came out most recently in 41685 and 80023 so Bricklinking them might be a little tricky
@Harmonious_Building said:
"General public: Great idea! What a fun and engaging way to help kids through a challenging experience!
AFOL: Looks like part 6213792 came out most recently in 41685 and 80023 so Bricklinking them might be a little tricky"
Ah but a *true* Afol would know that 6213792 had a large stretch on the PaB wall, so they'll be one of the easier Bricklinks for recreation
I wish they'd do something like this - offer to sell these at a premium and for each one sold one is donated to a hospital.
@Lego34s said:
" @GrizBe said:
"They should sell these and give the profits to childrens hospital charities. Pretty sure they'd sell thousands. "
Just about to suggest such a thing, get it on Lego Ideas...…. or Lego supply at cost and the Hospitals Sell them in the hospitals for the profit which goes locally."
I love this as a bigger idea of themed sets where profits go to charities.
I think most people here only want to buy this because it's limited and they won't be able to get one via normal channels. If this was released as a City or Ideas set, people would be questioning it by asking who the audience is and saying nobody wants to buy this.
@fakespacesquid said:
" @Harmonious_Building said:
"General public: Great idea! What a fun and engaging way to help kids through a challenging experience!
AFOL: Looks like part 6213792 came out most recently in 41685 and 80023 so Bricklinking them might be a little tricky"
Ah but a *true* Afol would know that 6213792 had a large stretch on the PaB wall, so they'll be one of the easier Bricklinks for recreation"
This is part 24599 and is widely available on BnP (cad$0.65, ymmv) and if you don't like turquoise, that piece is available in 10 other colours. The keyboards (6329575) and screens (4289304) are also readily available.
How about if someone in the company or foundation instead developed something to help children navigate the often daunting and intimidating process of going to the dentist?
I also agree that LEGO should rather sell sets and give the profits from those certain special sets to charities, but this is surely not a charity operation but a publicity/advertising one (a significally cheaper way to gain positive recognition than buying ads or giving children a personal set to own, like the Foundation has done before). In a retail setting this would perhaps be a 50 USD set but the production cost is probably around 10-15 EUR, or even less. I wouldn't be surprised if the total production costs for this project were about the same as one months wages for the person in PR dept who thought of scaling an innocent idea into this slam-dunk gimmick.
And if a hospital actually had needed a toy to make the MRI less frightening etc they could have just bought an easily available Playmobil set.
Think this set looks fabulous and it's a brilliant initiative. My daughter is a radiographer (and loves Lego) and she's applied for one for her hospital and team. She said she had never applied for something so quickly! She works with children and will definitely know how she and her team can use it to support these patients through what can be a scary ordeal. Good work Lego Foundation and thanks for highlighting Brickset.
Not only a wonderful idea, would be hilarious if the doctors and nurses would also dress up as Minifigs. ;-)
I'd buy that, or love it as a GWP.
I was also trying to work out why the base was so thick. Maybe the two rooms can be detached from the base, and the scanner room given to the child to hold and the doctor keeping the control room, to help explain their roles and allow greater identification with the child minifigure. The presence of long tiles in the layers indicate this, and may explain the abundance of grey. Or there is some kind of underfloor detail, eg. cables to help explain the process.
There also seems to be a 'waiting room' behind.
Having had many MRIs over the course of cancer treatment I can see how children might find the machine and setting scary. If this is what LEGO does with the Super Hero Tax I pay, then good on them; I think this is wonderful.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so excited to go into an MRI machine. Usually they look nervous.
@holdre007 said:
"How about if someone in the company or foundation instead developed something to help children navigate the often daunting and intimidating process of going to the dentist?
I also agree that LEGO should rather sell sets and give the profits from those certain special sets to charities, but this is surely not a charity operation but a publicity/advertising one (a significally cheaper way to gain positive recognition than buying ads or giving children a personal set to own, like the Foundation has done before). In a retail setting this would perhaps be a 50 USD set but the production cost is probably around 10-15 EUR, or even less. I wouldn't be surprised if the total production costs for this project were about the same as one months wages for the person in PR dept who thought of scaling an innocent idea into this slam-dunk gimmick.
And if a hospital actually had needed a toy to make the MRI less frightening etc they could have just bought an easily available Playmobil set."
Well, I like the set because:
* It completes what should be a *real* hospital, rather than having to piecemeal previous City Hospital sets into an actual respectable hospital.
* As the article stated, it helps alleviate the anxiety, fear, etc., of MRI machines (noise, claustrophobia, what the results will show, etc.) to not just children. Many adults have these same fears, and it's not just children going through and having MRIs that have these fears ... ergo, a parent or grandparent might be having an MRI, and the child is damn scared of what is going on with them.
* The proceeds indeed benefit a good cause. Why question what the motive is behind releasing this set?
And while I'm sure that indeed some hospitals will defer to Playmobil for a similar set, remember that Lego is the in thing right now and something children would find very helpful and therapeutic.
The kid in the video went into the machine with one cuddly toy and came out with 2. Is it secretly a cloning device?
Only 600.....
There are over 460 MRI untis in the UK alone.
TLG should be ashamed to be so penny pinching.....
Donating 6000 would have been more approptiate.
@Venunder said:
"Only 600.....
There are over 460 MRI untis in the UK alone.
TLG should be ashamed to be so penny pinching.....
Donating 6000 would have been more approptiate."
Why not 6,000,000 while we're at it? Also, counting the number of machines is not the same as counting the number of facilities that have machines.
@Lego34s said:
" @GrizBe said:
"They should sell these and give the profits to childrens hospital charities. Pretty sure they'd sell thousands. "
Just about to suggest such a thing, get it on Lego Ideas...…. or Lego supply at cost and the Hospitals Sell them in the hospitals for the profit which goes locally."
It was on LEGO Ideas - I remember supporting it - but I'm afraid it never got approved.
@fakespacesquid said:
" @Venunder said:
"Only 600.....
There are over 460 MRI untis in the UK alone.
TLG should be ashamed to be so penny pinching.....
Donating 6000 would have been more approptiate."
Why not 6,000,000 while we're at it? Also, counting the number of machines is not the same as counting the number of facilities that have machines. "
It should be noted it’s a pilot scheme, and Lego are looking for feedback from the successful applicants. It also looks as if it will be sent to the hospitals ready assembled (by Foundation volunteers) and I wonder if prebuilt Lego like that is a first? It may be not every hospital or unit will want one or apply. 600 feels like a good number to get a range of engaged applicants.
While I can understand the cynicism (or indeed the ‘respect’) for what could be perceived as just a PR stunt (I don’t think it is), such anxieties are real and regularly faced by radiographers. It’s also highlighted the sometimes unsung but utterly critical role health professionals like radiographers play in wider healthcare. I certainly didn’t envision ever having the opportunity to comment on BrickSet about how proud I am of the work my daughter does as a radiographer - and how challenging it is. If this set, and this initiative can do that more widely and also address, in however incremental a way a child’s anxiety then I am wholly supportive of this.
@IowaHawkeye13 said:
"I wish that they would sell these and use the proceeds to donate more."
brilliant idea.
@holdre007 said:
"How about if someone in the company or foundation instead developed something to help children navigate the often daunting and intimidating process of going to the dentist?"
Not that many people - thankfully - have had to go through an MRI, compared to the number of people who have been to the dentist. Straightaway, this means that a far larger proportion of children going to the dentists have available someone they already know and trust who can explain the process to them than those going into an MRI.
"And if a hospital actually had needed a toy to make the MRI less frightening etc they could have just bought an easily available Playmobil set."
LEGO does have the advantage of selling sets for an older audience: the MRI is bad enough, there is no need to be patronising as well.
It’s a great idea. My son has been through the machine…hold on I need a minute. Rough guess is around 25 times in 14 years. There’s a +/- on that of 3. I just can’t remember the amount pre-surgery (brain tumor) and I can’t remember the count of PET vs MRI vs MEG scans.
This would be a really great tool for someone like him or a radiographer or the various other personnel who work in imaging at hospitals to work with kids and/or disabled young adults who need help with understanding the process in a tactile, non-threatening way.
I love this.
this is beautiful. i've had to be through MRI's several times as a little kid and it was scary enough for me, i know it was severely worse for many other kids and even adults... this seems like a really sweet, cute little way to build some comfort going into the procedure. really like this.
This is a great idea! Nice to see Lego doing something good for once instead of laying off employees and ranting about 'green initiatives' to the detriment of their product quality.
While I am really happy about this, only 600 sets for hospitals across the entire world? (highly unlikely any will come to Australia). Surely they could have at least done a round number like 1000.... Ideally more.
When I was little the MRI machines had video players in them and I'd bring Thunderbirds or The Adventures of Tintin DVD and barely notice the MRI aside from the loud chunk chunk chunk which would annoyingly start when I was trying to hear the characters speaking LOL. Often the video would end before the machine had finished and I'd just lie there not at all concerned and quite still.
Despite this great initiative, I still think more should be done by society to get kids to sit still, concentrate; be okay with not having constant attention or gratification (eg just read a book or watch passing cars instead of needing a mobile phone 24/7). I don't blame the child, I blame the parenting and society.
Many of you, along with my parents used to have to go to medical appointments alone, which was very daunting especially the dentist. When my mother was little and had to go to the dentist, she was encouraged to bring her doll, which even at a very young age she thought was silly because the doll couldn't help her.
For some kids this is great but as I've said, ideally kids should just be able to lie still for a while. So often I see children at cafes and so forth, constantly badgering parents (often quite aggressively and assertively for their age), to which the parent shoves a mobile phone at them and then the child finally shuts up (although the noises of whatever game they are playing can be heard by everyone in the cafe). Once upon a time you just did whatever task/chore needed to be done and occupied yourself when you had free time, I see no reason as to why that should not be the case now.
Yeah they they should just do a run that cost double "retail value" with the other half going towards send more out or just general donations to children's hospitals.
In case you are interested, I tried to build this set digitally and the model and instruction can be found here:
https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-103049/ayayop/mri-scanner/details
It might not be exactly the same as the official model. But at least I tried to make the scanner itself as close to theirs as possible.
I can be quite harsh and cynical when it comes to LEGO, but stuff like this puts a smile on my face!
Appears that it pivots so that you can take a look inside. Curious to know what is on the other side of the wall to the technicians control room and please give him a chair? Why so many grey plates. If they just put on a vintage brick plate then they could reduce the number of pieces.
@bassplate said:
"I was also trying to work out why the base was so thick. Maybe the two rooms can be detached from the base, and the scanner room given to the child to hold and the doctor keeping the control room, to help explain their roles and allow greater identification with the child minifigure. The presence of long tiles in the layers indicate this, and may explain the abundance of grey. Or there is some kind of underfloor detail, eg. cables to help explain the process.
There also seems to be a 'waiting room' behind."
Each of the 'rooms' detaches from the base, hence the thickness. The MRI itself swings open too which adds to the thickness on that side. If it were to be a full publicly available set, I'd imagine some changes would be made to strengthen the base using something else instead of plates.
It is a nice set but.... I hate to say but.... unless it's glued together I can't see some of them lasting. Kids see Lego....wanna play and build with Lego.
My daughter has had some MRIs. They are a weird experience but I was impressed how calm she was about it.
@Brickchap said:
"For some kids this is great but as I've said, ideally kids should just be able to lie still for a while. So often I see children at cafes and so forth, constantly badgering parents (often quite aggressively and assertively for their age), to which the parent shoves a mobile phone at them and then the child finally shuts up (although the noises of whatever game they are playing can be heard by everyone in the cafe). Once upon a time you just did whatever task/chore needed to be done and occupied yourself when you had free time, I see no reason as to why that should not be the case now. "
Cool rant bro, but this has nothing to do with phones. It's meant to explain the process before kids go through the machine, not entertain them during the procedure
@bookmum said:
"It is a nice set but.... I hate to say but.... unless it's glued together I can't see some of them lasting. "
It is mentioned they are prebuilt by volunteers. Perhaps someone who has access to one of these can confirm whether kragle was used.
I’ve had several MRI scans but I always fall asleep in them so one of these models would be wasted on me :-D
I wholeheartedly support this idea and the suggestions to sell it and donate profits to give more to hospitals!
My LUG donates hundreds of sets to our local children's hospital. LEGO needs step up. They can do a lot better.
If I can get my hands on the instructions I 200% will build and donate one to my neurology clinic!
Hi
I work as a MRI radiographer and this model looked awesome, till the moment I discovered that it's not an MRI scanner, but an X-ray tomography scanner (CT).
MRI machines have no moving parts inside, but CT scanner have an X-ray tube and a sensor array spinning around the patient (in the model it's represented by the turntable).
MRI machines are solid steady structures (only electricity flowing trough superconducting wires) and this is something we use to say to the people to get them feel more comfy in the machine.
I wonder how The LEGO Foundation could make that mistake. Maybe it seems irrelevant, but some patients feel calmer when they know nothing is moving inside the equipment.
For my Eagle Scout project a few years ago I did something similar, where I designed a simple hospital room set and some custom printed pieces and was able to produce a little over one hundred sets for the children's hospital that my sister had treatment at. It was a really fun experience to design my own set, and I hope Lego can expand their production to other hospitals!
@edoarado said:
"I work as a MRI radiographer and this model looked awesome, till the moment I discovered that it's not an MRI scanner, but an X-ray tomography scanner (CT).
MRI machines have no moving parts inside, but CT scanner have an X-ray tube and a sensor array spinning around the patient (in the model it's represented by the turntable)."
I'm not sure which bit of the model you're seeing as a turntable, but as far as I can see there isn't one.
The only moving part of the model is the platform to slide the patient into the scanner (as demonstrated on the explanatory video)
@sjr60 said:
" @edoarado said:
"I work as a MRI radiographer and this model looked awesome, till the moment I discovered that it's not an MRI scanner, but an X-ray tomography scanner (CT).
MRI machines have no moving parts inside, but CT scanner have an X-ray tube and a sensor array spinning around the patient (in the model it's represented by the turntable)."
I'm not sure which bit of the model you're seeing as a turntable, but as far as I can see there isn't one.
The only moving part of the model is the platform to slide the patient into the scanner (as demonstrated on the explanatory video) "
You can see it when the model is open. In the support video titled "Exploring the journey" ( https://vimeo.com/679043617/51841016eb ) from the time mark 0:20 it's clearly showed.
You can even recognise what should be the tube and the detector array on the opposite sides of the moving gantry in a real CT.
@edoarado
"You can see it when the model is open. In the support video titled "Exploring the journey" ( https://vimeo.com/679043617/51841016eb ) from the time mark 0:20 it's clearly showed.
You can even recognise what should be the tube and the detector array on the opposite sides of the moving gantry in a real CT."
Oh yes. Removable perhaps, to simulate different types of scanner?
I had brain surgery when I was 10, would’ve loved this!