by
Lisa Chamoff, Contributing Reporter | April 13, 2020
From the April 2020 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
“When they have a little bit of control, their compliance rate with procedures goes up,” Kemp said. “Everything we do as child life specialists is a child-directed process.”
The facility has had a high success rate getting pediatric patients through MR exams without anesthesia, said Becky Reinholz, clinical manager of the child life department for the Children's Hospital at Saint Francis. Of the 264 patients aged 5 to 12 scanned in all, only 57 of them received anesthesia. Only four exams needed to be repeated, as the 3T scanner has software that can help reduce the subtle movements of children.
Creating distractions
Products that allow patients to watch videos or listen to music can go a long way in reducing anxiety around imaging exams.
The Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Illinois, uses the CinemaVision system from a company called Resonance Technology, which allows for standard video, television and PC content through goggles and headphones, as well as two-way communication with technologists via a microphone.
“We all know kids can sit there and watch YouTube videos for extended periods of time,” said Sara Burton, a certified child life specialist at The Carle. “Now the kids lie there and don’t even realize a healthcare procedure has just taken place.”
For CT scans, they can project an image right on the machine.
“Children can chose what the CT looks like,” Burton said. “It gives kids the feeling that radiology can be approachable and lets them know that they have a voice in their own care.”
Pediatric patients at the Carle are able to avoid sedation 90% of the time after working with child life specialists and using certain tools.
Before he became chief operating officer of MRI Audio, Keith Prince, was the chief executive officer of Sharp and Children's MRI in San Diego.
By using a video product, the staff there saw an anecdotal 50% to 60% success rate for not sedating pediatric patients. While sedation is risky, it can also mean the difference between getting the exam right the first time and repeating it.
“Depending on the exam you do, it can be an hour of table time and if you miss that you can lose revenue,” Prince said.
MRI Audio recently received FDA 510(k) clearance for a video product. They are currently testing prototypes at three facilities before full production in May.
The product will also help monitor patients that end up needing anesthesia, with a camera that shows the patient’s face from inside the bore at the technologist’s console.
"You can look at their face to see how well they are tolerating the scan,” Prince said. “I think this has potential to change the way anesthesia is administered. It also may be able to reduce the amount of anesthesia that's required.”
