Teaneck/Bronx—Every parent knows that seemingly minor medical procedures can produce major anxiety for children. In a foreign environment, with strange noises and devices, even easygoing children are uncomfortable. Everyone looks to make the process as smooth as possible for the patient.
Teaneck’s Dr. Benjamin Taragin is familiar with the challenges from two angles—as a father of three, as well as the division chief of pediatric radiology at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore. Taragin’s epiphany came to him while he and his son were building with LEGO® together. A fan of LEGO® from childhood, even now as an adult it helps Taragin relate to his patients.
“I came across a curved, semicircular piece and realized that it reminded me of the bore/opening of an MRI,” explained Taragin. “With that thought in my head, my son and I began to build our initial MRI model made with LEGO®. After building it, I realized that this might actually be useful for our child-life division at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore.” Taragin hopes that using what he refers to as “the basic blocks of childhood” to model the experience will help diminish much of the anxiety children feel.
Taragin used his Twitter account to generate interest about this idea, eventually reaching Dr. Erik Ranschaert, a radiologist in the Netherlands. Ranschaert also recognized the power in this idea, and was able to enlist the help of certified LEGO® professional Dirk Denoyelle. Together, they used their combined knowledge of radiology, pediatrics and LEGO® and made two different sets. The first set is a miniature MRI scanner, which can be used for each patient to own, or even for hospitals to send out before the MRI takes place. The second set, which is available for hospitals and other facilities, has the MRI machine and also includes a realistic layout of the rooms (control room, changing room, etc.), and the family waiting area.
What started as a small LEGO® project has grown into a full-scale child-life therapy undertaking. Hospital therapists praise this approach, and have reached out to Taragin. Internationally, over 50 different hospitals have ordered the MRI sets, even as far away as Kuwait and Taiwan. Many local hospitals have ordered the MRI sets made with LEGO®, including CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia), Boston Children’s Hospital, Hackensack Hospital and Brooklyn Hospital. Taragin and his colleagues feel that the children who have been able to learn about the MRI process beforehand through the LEGO® sets have reduced their fear and anxiety. Reducing the level of anxiety often decreases the need for anesthesia and sedation. Over time, they hope to document the findings for a longer-term research project.
Besides the level of fun and familiarity LEGO®s bring to children (not exclusive to children, of course), they also provide a very practical advantage in that they are portable, and in the hospital environment where infection control is key, also easy to disinfect.
At this point, LEGO® does not produce the MRI sets, requiring Taragin to enlist the help of his LEGO® professional in Belgium. For small orders, Taragin ships out of New Jersey (email [email protected]). Larger orders are available on the site http://www.amazings.eu/professionals. Hospitals can even order their logo imprinted on a LEGO® block.
Taragin does not make money off of these sets. Proceeds go to the World Federation of Pediatric Imaging, an organization that helps equip third-world countries with necessary radiology equipment.
To follow the progress and development of this innovative child-life tool, and for entertaining posts of some beloved Marvel characters going in for their own LEGO® MRI, find Dr. Taragin on Twitter at twitter.com/BTaragin.
Jenny Gans
