A show of strength:
out with the old, in with the new

Today, the outdated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner was moved from the radiology department of the Altona Children’s Hospital with a great deal of logistical and physical effort. Even though we were aware that it found its way into the radiology department 13 years ago according to our planning at the time and would therefore also be able to leave in the same way, we experienced some tense moments, which NDR summarised very nicely in this report for Hamburg Journal.

No sooner had the decommissioned MRI scanner been transported away than we had to adapt the premises for the use of the new scanner in order to reduce the downtime and prepare for the fortunately less spectacular installation, as the new MRI scanner has smaller transport dimensions.

Due to the strong magnetic fields, an RF cage has to be built for an MRI scanner – the old one had to be renewed and enlarged, including the interior fittings. Our aim was to design this room in such a way that the young patients feel comfortable and therefore unafraid of the examination, despite all the basic medical and technical requirements. In addition to the daylight window we planned and implemented 13 years ago, which is still unusual for an MRI room today, this time there was also a special design of the walls in different shades of grey, which in combination with the so-called Ambient Experience In-bore System now immerses the room with a pleasant atmosphere. This system provides the possibility of watching calming videos during the MRI scan, the colour spectrum of which is reproduced in the surrounding space and colours the surroundings. The design of the room, in combination with the distraction of video impressions such as “forest walk” or “underwater world”, is intended to reduce patients’ fear of the examination before and during the examination in the MRI “tube”. With this very pleasant form of distraction, from now on even younger children who previously had to receive an anaesthetic or sedative for the examination can be examined without anaesthetic, with a reduced dose or without the addition of medication.

The machine, one of the most advanced MRI systems in the world and used for the first time at a children’s hospital, is currently undergoing a trial run in the radiology department of the Altona Children’s Hospital.

Soon, a large number of young patients will fortunately be able to immerse themselves in a world with gentle sounds and images and meanwhile not notice anything that is happening in the examination. We are pleased that our motto “People. Space. Time.” is also reflected in this project and the young people concerned here will be less stressed during MRI examinations in the future.