Huang Yungui,  Krishnamurthy Rajesh,  Hu Houchun,  Luna John,  Krishnamurthy Ramkumar,  Lubeley Lacey,  Buskirk Tricia,  Karczewski Arleen,  Garrett Whitney,  Lin Simon,  Mcallister Aaron

Final Pr. ID: Poster #: EDU-040

Background: Image quality in MRI is often degraded by patient motion. To reduce the need for repeat exams, sedation or general anesthesia is used in pediatric patients. This requires additional clinical staff, and leads to increased scheduling wait times and overall procedure times that impact workflow. Many institutions prepare children for MRI using mock-up replicas. While effective in acclimating patients to the MRI environment, the availability of mock-up practices are often limited. Mock-ups also require physical space and do not simulate the full MRI environment and exam experience.

Purpose: We build an affordable, scalable, and portable immersive virtual reality (IVR) platform for simulating MRI exams. Specifically, we designed an IVR environment that accurately mimics a Siemens 3 Tesla suite within our Radiology practice, including intricate details such as room size, color, lighting, ancillary equipment, pulse sequence audio, and background noise. The IVR platform also attempts to simulate the complete sequence of events and environments a child will experience during an exam, including the check-in process, interactions with staff (e.g., nurses, technologists), the waiting area and changing rooms, the positioning and motion of the MRI table, placement of coils, and within-exam instructions, such as breath-holds. Our platform also allows the patient to move around in the VR space and interact with the environment. Additionally, the platform can be easily converted to mimic any other MR suite. We hypothesize that our platform can be easily adopted by Child Life and hospital staff to quickly acclimate a patient and assess whether he/she can suitably undergo an MRI exam without sedation or general anesthesia.

We believe the IVR platform can overcome the limitations of mock-up replicas. First, IVR has a smaller footprint and is scalable and portable across the hospital. This allows multiple IVR sessions to be held in parallel. Second, IVR can give the patient a hospital-specific and scan-specific first-person experience. The patient can interact with realistic 3D representations of the MRI environment and processes. Our current implementation of IVR was developed using HTC VIVE headsets with a dedicated laptop for control. To further improve portability, the IVR setup can be adopted using simple goggles and handheld devices. This will enable future IVR sessions to be conducted at the bedside, in patient’s homes, and in referring physician offices. Read More

Authors:  Huang Yungui , Krishnamurthy Rajesh , Hu Houchun , Luna John , Krishnamurthy Ramkumar , Lubeley Lacey , Buskirk Tricia , Karczewski Arleen , Garrett Whitney , Lin Simon , Mcallister Aaron

Keywords:  magnetic resonance imaging, virtual reality, simulation

Lee Somin,  Ola Tolulope,  Baffi Henrique,  Tsang Brian,  Gupta Aaryan,  Stimec Jennifer,  Doria Andrea

Final Pr. ID: Poster #: SCI-018

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies hold potential for extensive applications in entertainment and simulation of healthcare procedures. These technologies offer solutions to various healthcare challenges including treatment planning, pain management, and surgical simulations, leading to more efficient and cost-effective patient care. Ongoing advancements have made VR and AR more accessible, particularly in medical education, procedural planning, and therapeutic interventions.

This scoping review aims to examine the current state of knowledge regarding applications of VR and AR as a clinical tool, interventional aid, or alternative management approach in radiology for pediatric and adult populations to guide further research, inform evidence-based guidelines, and identify gaps in existing literature.

This review followed the PICO (Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) framework, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), and Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy (STARD) to assess the reporting quality of referenced literature. The initial search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library, supplemented with manual screening of reference lists. The search terms were adapted for specific databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library) and focused on the intersection of VR and AR with diagnostic imaging in pediatric and adult populations.

Out of 1,120 references, 14 primary studies were included in this systematic review, encompassing a total of 478 patients. 6/14 (42.9%) focused on children only and 8/14 (57.1%) on children and adults. The studies featured prospective (N=12) and retrospective (N=2) research designs mainly exploring VR and AR applications in preoperative planning, surgical navigation, intraoperative support, pain management, and patient education. The use of VR and AR in radiology in the selected primary papers showed promising results in improving patient experiences and surgical outcomes and indicated potential benefits in terms of patient satisfaction, reduced pain and anxiety, and enhanced surgical precision.

This scoping review highlights potential clinical applications of VR and AR in radiology in pediatric and adult populations. However, more rigorous research is needed to assess cost-effectiveness of these technologies. Standardized reporting guidelines like STARD should be more consistently followed in future studies to enhance research reporting quality. Read More

Authors:  Lee Somin , Ola Tolulope , Baffi Henrique , Tsang Brian , Gupta Aaryan , Stimec Jennifer , Doria Andrea

Keywords:  Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Clinical Application

Zapala Matthew,  Li Yi,  Belisario Jennifer,  Phelps Andrew,  Courtier Jesse,  Vlasses Christopher

Final Pr. ID: Paper #: 022

Virtual reality (VR) has been used successfully as a psychological preparation tool in the pediatric patient population for elective surgery, oncological procedures and pain management. MRI exams require patients to remain motionless in a small, confined space for extended periods of time creating nervousness and an inability to hold still. VR offers a new way to prepare pediatric patients for MRI through simulations to reduce nervousness and decrease motion, resulting in more successful imaging outcomes. This study is designed to assess if VR simulations of an MRI exam can increase anticipatory knowledge and reduce nervousness in a pediatric cohort. Read More

Authors:  Zapala Matthew , Li Yi , Belisario Jennifer , Phelps Andrew , Courtier Jesse , Vlasses Christopher

Keywords:  Virtual Reality, MRI, Child Life