A novel virtual reality technology to make MRI a new experience

Date:
August 11, 2021
Source:
King's College London
Summary:
Researchers have created a novel interactive VR system to be used
by patients when undertaking an MRI.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers from King's College London have created a novel interactive
VR system to be used by patients when undertaking an MRI.


==========================================================================
In a new paper published in Scientific Reports, the researchers say they
hope this advancement will make it easier for those who find having a
MRI scan challenging such as children, people with cognitive difficulties
or those who suffer from claustrophobia or anxiety.

In normal circumstances, MRI scans fail in up to 50 percent of children
under 5 years of age, which means that hospitals often rely on sedative medication or even anesthesia to get children successfully scanned.

These measures are time consuming and expensive and have their own
associated risks. From a neuroscience point of view, it also means that
MRI based studies of brain function are generally only ever studied in
these vulnerable populations during an artificial induced sleep state so
may not be representative of how the brain works in normal circumstances.

Lead researcher Dr Kun Qian from the School of Biomedical Engineering &
Imaging Sciences at King's College London said having an MRI scan can
be quite an alien experience as it involves going into a narrow tunnel,
with loud and often strange noises in the background, all while having
to stay as still as possible.

"We were keen to find other ways of enabling children and vulnerable
people to have an MRI scan," Dr Qian said.



==========================================================================
"Our interest in VR specifically came from the simple observation that
when someone is using and then immersed in a VR environment, they are
entirely unaware of their surroundings. We thought if we could make a
system compatible with the MRI environment, it could be a very powerful alternative way to successfully scan these challenging populations."
To provide patients with an immersive VR environment, the researchers
developed a special VR headset that can be safely used inside MRI scanner.

The headset is designed to be light tight, so that the user cannot see
their surrounding environment at all and is unaware of visual reminders
of their position.

Once the system is properly positioned, the system's projector is
immediately live, providing immersive content and the VR experience is
then continuous from that point onwards until the patient is removed at
the end of the examination.

The researchers say this and other measures are highly effective at
removing the sense of being inside the MRI scanner, as their visual scene
is completely replaced with the VR environment and through creating
congruence with the other sensations that are perceived during MRI
examinations such as scanner noise, table movement and table vibration.



==========================================================================
So far, this has been done by including elements in the visual scene
that indicate that construction work is in progress in the virtual world,
which could account for scanner noise and vibration.

One of the main novelties with this system is that the users can interact
with the virtual world just with eye gaze -- how we do things in our
day-to-day lives.

Currently, there are no other such MR compatible systems which combine
a VR presentation system with intuitive interaction in this way.

Using their gaze (ie, just looking at objects or areas in the VR
environment) , so the user can navigate through the virtual world, to
select content such as films and games, play games and to initiate or
terminate a video link to their companion/carer.

The latter means that an anxious patient can interact at will with a
companion or carer at any time during their examination via a webcam
with microphone and a display monitor installed in the console area.

The researchers say the next steps for the system is to develop content
and test it with patients.

"Developing the right content is crucial, as for the system to be
effective it needs to maintain a subject/patient's attention and their
sense of immersion for as long as possible. As this content is likely to
be very different depending on age and cognitive capabilities, getting
this right and tailoring it for different clinical and study populations
is a key next step," Dr Qian said.

Co-author Dr Tomoki Arichi said: "We are very excited about
the possibilities that this system opens up for vulnerable and
important populations like children and those with difficulties
which might mean they can't normally have a MRI scan without being
put to sleep. Not only could this make an enormous difference
for everyday clinical practice, but it also opens the way
for us to gain dramatic new insight into how patterns of brain
function, behaviour and social skills develop across our lives." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by King's_College_London. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Kun Qian, Tomoki Arichi, Anthony Price, Sofia Dall'Orso, Jonathan
Eden,
Yohan Noh, Kawal Rhode, Etienne Burdet, Mark Neil, A. David Edwards,
Joseph V. Hajnal. An eye tracking based virtual reality system for
use inside magnetic resonance imaging systems. Scientific Reports,
2021; 11 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-95634-y ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210811091546.htm

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