COSMO@HOME

The app will contain different personalized modules such as exercises and games to learn to lay still or breathe deeply. One module may allow to experience a scan in virtual reality and another parental module would provide background information. The aim is to reduce the number of sedations with 20%, which will lead to a decrease in hospital time, cost reduction and improved healthcare.

To be able to carry out successful MR scans on children without sedation, a novel preparation protocol has been developed called COSMO. COSMO is designed to achieve MR acquisitions with awake children as young as four years of age in a time and resource efficient manner. This without mock scanners, lengthy preparation procedures or repeated hospital visits. The children are prepared by immersing them in a fantasy, child friendly and engaging story, which is told and performed by trained hospital staff.

The aim of this project is to scale up the COSMO protocol by creating a digital COSMO tool that can be used by children and parents to prepare for the scanning sessions at home. Such a tool will bypass or limit the need for dedicated staff members and is as such far more scalable and cost-effective than the current approach. In this project, we will design and implement the tool based on prior knowledge of all the partners to achieve optimal success, a maximal number of scans without the need for sedation. The tool will be tested in 3 different hospitals to evaluate its effectiveness, efficiency and clinical impact.