philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

According to Orozco, the prototype creates a child-friendly experience for kids to learn what an MRI is and how it functions. He described that users would see a teddy bear welcoming them and walking them through the MRI scan procedures and overall experience.

“VR experience emerges you in that space, so you can see the scanner, you can see what the room would look like, you can [hear] the sounds,” Orzco said. “By stimulating the environment and the procedure itself, it's much more than just a learning experience. You're getting first-hand experience of [MRI].”

He also explained that VR MRI is different from other mock MRI tools on the market due to its portability, since most competitors have products that are too large for hospitals, and immersive reality.

He attributed factors that increased anxiety among children to the MRI’s loud sounds, huge volume and closed environment. The National Center for Biotechnology Informationreported that MRI scans are more likely to cause anxiety among children, since it makes sounds of up to 120 decibels. This amount is equivalent to the loudness of an ambulance siren or thunderclap, according to the Hearing Health Foundation.