Philips Healthcare parent company Royal Philips has launched Pediatric Coaching, a play-based educational program intended to help reduce anxiety in children undergoing MRI exams and thus make the exams more successful.
The program is the company's latest addition to its Ambient Experience portfolio. It uses gamification and "buddy system" techniques to prepare children for the MRI experience and mitigate anxiety that can translate into a child's inability to lie still for the exam. Ahead of the procedure, children use a mobile app that teaches them about MRI exams and introduces them to a virtual "buddy" they can role play with; the buddy accompanies them through the exam. Before the procedure, children also interact with the company's "Kitten Scanner," which allows them to scan toy animals.
The "Kitten Scanner." Images courtesy of Philips.The company is launching Philips Pediatric Coaching at the International Pediatric Radiology Congress in Rome, it said.
