Can We Increase MRI Patient Comfort?

Radiology departments are tasked with identifying innovative, cost-effective approaches to increase patient comfort and reduce stress.

Once barely considered among department priorities, patient comfort is increasingly viewed as central to growing an imaging organization’s value, reputation, and most important, ability to deliver longitudinally integrated care for better patient outcomes.

In order to improve the patient experience, we must recognize that patients often show up to the radiology department in a state of vulnerability. Many come to the exam with little knowledge of what to expect. Additionally, they experience stress and anxiety related to the imaging procedure itself and apprehension about what it may reveal. Image quality can be partly reflective of a patient’s ability to comply with the needs of the equipment — lying still in an enclosed space or holding breath for the required amount of time. Thus, ensuring a relaxed and comfortable environment is more than just a nice thing to do for the patient: rather, it is fundamental to the acquisition of high-quality diagnostic images.

The Sound Imaging line of MRI accessories is engineered with patient comfort in mind. This includes the MRI Stereo, the MRI Visor, the MRI BoreCam and MRI PMT, and Magnet Watch, a mobile application.