Getting an MRI isn’t a pleasant experience. You enter a cold, claustrophobic tunnel only to be bombarded by the loud sounds of the machine doing its work. For adults, it’s nerve-wracking. For premature or sick babies, it can even be dangerous. The long preparation and scanning process can send their fragile systems into distress.
Aspect Imaging, in partnership with the design consultancy Frog, has created a new MRI machine designed with newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of hospitals in mind. Because the system can safely be placed inside the NICU, the new machine dramatically decreases the time and preparation involved in a typical MRI.
“It’s baby-centered design,” says James Luther, a designer at frog who was the creative director for Aspect Imaging’s Embrace Neonatal MRI. “We got to be the advocate of the newborn in this case. They don’t have much of a voice.”
MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, is a non-invasive test that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to capture images of organs and all internal body structures. It’s a standard tool used in hospitals across the country and is particularly useful in diagnosing problems for both adults and newborns.