It's a hit - DVD MRI now playing at Cape Fear 07/13/2006 Patients requiring an MRI scan at Cape Fear Hospital now have the option to completely immerse themselves in a movie, a television show or even watch home movies during the test - thanks to the recent addition of a virtual reality DVD player.
This technology was so well received when it became available at the NHRMC campus in 2005 that the NHRMC auxiliary purchased a second system for the MRI at the Cape Fear Hospital campus. Patients requiring a scan may ask their physicians to schedule them at either campus and may bring along a favorite movie, a favorite music CD or even slide shows of their children or pets.
“…Anything you can play in a DVD player,” said Bobby Burn, Radiology Manager. “Kids love it. Adults love it.”
Burn said that since the system was installed more than a year ago at NHRMC, patients have embraced the concept because it reduces the anxiety people sometimes feel before undergoing a medical exam.
“You wouldn’t even know that you’re in the magnet because all you see is the movie,” he said.
Patients are asked to lie very still for the duration of the exam that once may have lasted more than an hour. Some exams are shorter now, Burn said, but patients are still kept from moving for as much as 30 to 60 minutes.
“This gives you something to focus on,” he said. “You get to relax a little bit and before you know it, the study’s over. It’s a distraction.”
Patients don goggles that include a headpiece with a microphone so they can communicate at any time with the technologist performing the scan. If they don’t bring a movie to watch, cable television has proven to be more satisfying for patients who became frustrated that the scan didn’t last long enough to see the end of their movies.
To find out how to have an MRI at NHRMC or at Cape Fear Hospital, ask your physician to schedule you there or call Scheduling at 452-8777.
