More than 10,000 LEGO MRI Scanner sets have been donated to hospitals around the world to help reassure children who will come into contact woth the machines.
To help children around the world, the LEGO Group has manufactured and distributed MRI Scanner sets to hospitals. The LEGO MRI Scanner set aims to help children understand the process of having this type of scan and overcome any anxiety in an accessible and playful manner. Hospitals have been able to apply for these sets since 2022 and now more than one million children around the world have used the LEGO MRI Scanner.
The set replicates an MRI machine using 500 pieces, measuring 13cm wide. It features a scanner, patient bed, waiting room, scanning room, staff minifigures (including a radiologist to interpret the images) and medical accessories . The LEGO Foundation also developed four training videos to accompany the model and help hospital staff to encourage play learning and dialogues with the model.
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The scheme was sparked by LEGO Chemical Technician Erik Ullerlund Staehr, who partened with Odense University Hospital in Denmark to provide the first hand crafted models.
MRI scanners are frequently used in paediatric care as they do not use radiation, so are safer to use with children. Instead an MRI machine uses magnets and radio waves to align protons in the body with its magnetic field. However, the noisy, dark environment can be overwhelming for children as they have to be extremely still and sometimes require the use of anaesthesia.
Research conducted by the LEGO Group revealed that 96% of healthcare professionals who used the LEGO MRI Scanner set thought the model helped alleviate children’s anxiety about the procedure and 46% reported that it reduced the need for anaesthesia. These statistics came from surveys conducted with around 430 healthcare professionals across 432 hospitals in more than 13 counties.
95% of healthcare professionals using the set reported that it improved the family hospital experience by making it more fun and engaging for children. One child who has been helped by the scheme is a five year old from Edinburgh named Ivy. At the age of two, she began having prolonged seizures and after being put under anaesthesia for her first MRI scan, her family wanted to try her second scan at age four awake.
Ivy was referred to the procedural anxiety team at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, UK, where she was first introduced to the LEGO MRI Scanner model. Ivy’s mum, Rachel, believes that the experience helped to greatly reduce her daughter’s anxiety.
“On the day of her second scan Ivy did really well and was even a bit excited! If we hadn’t played with the LEGO MRI model beforehand, I think she would have had a full meltdown and would no doubt have needed general anaesthetic,” she explained. “Nobody wants their child to be put to sleep if you can avoid it. Ivy is a visual learner and loves LEGO bricks, so seeing and explaining the procedure through play was a game changer. It really helped her to understand what to expect, took away any nerves and made things go plain sailing. Coming into hospital can be a stressful experience, but playing with this model made our whole family feel more relaxed, calm and prepared.”
“I liked playing with the LEGO toy. It made me feel relaxed,” added Ivy. “I didn’t like the loud noises in the real machine. But I knew what was happening, so I wasn’t scared. I was brave.”
The use of the LEGO MRI Scanner set can help young people facing a variety of health challenges. “In our Children Centred Care project, the LEGO MRI model is invaluable for engaging children with wide-ranging conditions from migraine, convulsions, or cancer, creating safety and curiosity,” says Aarhus University Hospital Project Radiographer Jannie Bøge Steinmeier Larsen. “Early results show that the vast majority of children can be MRI scanned without general anaesthesia, reducing their risks and discomfort, while allocating resources for other patients. Families feel their child is seen and heard. This approach enhances both examination quality and the relationship between the child and the healthcare system.”
The LEGO MRI sets are not available for sale and are instead donated to hospitals through the LEGO Group’s social responsibility team’s partners across the globe, including Fairy Bricks, Starlight Children’s Foundation and United Way.
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