Lego Foundation Donating 600 MRI Kits To Hospitals Worldwide

The LEGO Foundation has announced it is donating another 600 LEGO kits to hospitals worldwide for miniature MRI Scanners—to help children cope with the intimidating process of having a Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan. The 500-piece sets allow clinicians to help patients understand what the large and complex MRI machine is all about.

The 500-piece sets allow clinicians to help patients understand what the large and complex MRI machine is all about. The model facilitates both role-play and dialogue so that the child feels safe and can build confidence and resilience before the actual journey. By reducing stress and anxiety the LEGO kits also reduce the use of anesthesia.

The idea was started in 2015 as a passion project for LEGO employee Erik Ullerlund Staehr and a Denmark hospital but is now being scaled and piloted with new training material for hospital staff. “I’m extremely proud of this project and the positive impact it’s already had,” said Erik. “I’ve seen first-hand how children have responded to these models; feeling more relaxed and turning an often highly stressful experience into a positive, playful one.”

Close to 100 hospitals across the world have already benefited from the pilot program. Last month, in order to create an even bigger impact, the LEGO Foundation scaled the project by encouraging hospitals across the world to apply for one of 600 models they made available—to be shipped completely free of charge to the hospitals. They opened the application process and received 1500 applications in one day.

The radiology department team at Odense University Hospital has been using the LEGO MRI Scanners as part of their playful learning approach to help over 200 children aged 4-9 annually.
“MRI Scanners make a lot of noise which can be very daunting for children. Our team has found that using the LEGO model has led to more positive, calm experiences for many children. This also benefits the quality of the MRI scan, which relies on the person being very still for up to an hour to work” said Ulla Jensen from the Department of Radiology.