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MRI now has digital distraction [The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa](Hawk Eye, The (Burlington, IA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) April 02--WEST BURLINGTON -- Anyone who is claustrophobic can now strap on a pair of goggles to watch a movie or TV while undergoing magnetic resonance imaging at Great River Medical Center. GRMC has implemented CinemaVision, a fiber-optic digital audio-visual entertainment system that allows patients to watch broadcast television or DVDs. MRI is an advanced diagnostics tool that uses a powerful magnet, low-intensity radio waves and computer technology to create detailed images of soft tissues, muscles, nerves and bones in the body. An MRI can last between 30 to 45 minutes and maybe longer if multiple body parts are looked at. Patients using CinemaVision will be able to enter their own virtual world through special CinemaVision goggles, complete with headphones, that shut out the machine noise and allow them to watch their own DVD selections or favorite TV show while the MRI procedure takes place. Using the specialized comfortable goggles is similar to watching a high-resolution 62-inch screen from 5.5 feet away. The system includes headgear, goggles and cords, contains no metal parts that could be drawn into the MRI magnet, and allows the staff to communicate with patients through the headphones and a microphone on the patient's headset. "Our goal with this system was to reduce the amount of patients that had to be sedated to have an MRI done by distracting them with the CinemaVision system," said Greg Fields, director of diagnostic imaging. Fields said the goggles reduce the incidence of claustrophobia in patients who have the condition. For those patients, having an MRI can create fearful feelings as the test takes place in a narrow, tube-like space in the machine. As a result, some individuals are sedated or become agitated and must be anesthetized. Others refuse to undergo the testing all together rather than deal with the fear, possibly putting their health at risk. "If someone comes in here and they are in pain, and they have to be in the same position for 30 minutes, just that distraction of being able to watch something or listen to something just helps the scan," said Sharon Fraise, MRI coordinator at GRMC. "That way, they don't have to make a return visit." CinemaVision is especially beneficial for children because it may eliminate the need for sedation during procedures. "In the past, we have always had to use anesthesia for those patients, and they had to be put asleep," Fraise said. "Now, they can watch cartoons, and they have the tendency to hold still, and they are not scared." Besides eliminating the use of drugs, sedation-free MRIs often can be scheduled sooner, and they cost less than MRIs with sedation. CinemaVision is available for use with one of Great River Medical Center's two MRI scanners. It is compatible with most procedures except head and neck scans because the goggles and headphones do not fit in the stabilization unit that holds the head in place during the procedure. "One of the challenges is we only have one machine," Fields said. "It's not transferable from room to room because of the fiber optics and having to work it into the MRI system. If we know ahead of time if the patients request it or if they are claustrophobic, we will try to get them scheduled on that scanner." Great River Medical Center is the only hospital in Iowa with CinemaVision. The $40,000 system was purchased by Great River Friends, a community of more than 700 volunteers and financial contributors who support Great River Health Systems. Fields said he isn't sure if or when GRMC will get another CinemaVision system for the other MRI machine, but patients who would like to use CinemaVision should request it when scheduling appointments. To see more of The Hawk Eye or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thehawkeye.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544) |