Hospitals and medical equipment can be daunting for adults let alone children.
Can there be a better way to carry out the medical procedures and create an exciting experience for its users? The researchers at General Electric (G.E) Healthcare challenged the status quo and came up with an answer! Read on.
Imaging testing such as CT (Computed Tomography) & MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) are essential and are used frequently in diagnosing illness in children. However, the process of undergoing a scan can be extremely frightening for children. Most of the children undergoing these scans are generally sedated for the procedure to minimise anxiety and fear.
G.E Healthcare, a U.S based medical equipment manufacture firm, recognised that there can be a better way to approach this procedure. Their global design team got together and decided to redesign the complete procedure from a child’s perspective i.e. their end user
And thus, GE Adventure Series™ was born – a creative solution to make the imaging experience fun for children.
Image machines and the rooms were painted in exciting themes such as a spaceship or a pirate ship. Staff were provided with guided scripts to ‘roleplay’ along with the children and noise created by the equipment was weaved into the adventure itself. For example, the MRI scanner room was masked as a spaceship and the noise of the MRI scanner blended in like a ship echoing through space!
The pilot project carried out in UPMC children’s hospital, Pittsburgh,US gave a positive result. Overall patient satisfaction increased by 90% and fewer children needed to be sedated for the procedure. The pilot also showed improvement in productivity since more patients were scanned each day as the sedate process was removed completely for some children.
ResonVate Thought
Theme park and entertainment concepts help medical professionals to reimagine medical imaging.
| I would like to ResonVate | |
| with ideas on | challenging status quo, leveraging a concept |
| which can be applied in | simplifying complex concepts, improving interaction experience |
| in areas like | Oil and Gas, Manufacturing |
Reference
https://www.all-can.org/efficiency-hub/ge-healthcare-adventure-series-making-imaging-more-child-friendly/
https://www3.gehealthcare.com/~/media/documents/us-global/products/accesories-supplies/brochures/
https://www.gehealthcare.com/products/accessories-and-supplies/adventure-series-for-mr
