Mission Control (MRIVR)

CRISPGroup/Mission-Control-MRI-VR: A McGill hackathon-winning VR simulation designed for children to practice stillness and reduce anxiety.

Project description

Mission Control offers an immersive VR simulation of a rocket landing to prepare children for the MRI process, aiming to reduce the need for sedation and enhance image quality. This project won first place as part of the McGillXR NeuroVR Hackathon 2024 edition, was demoed at the Shriners Hospital for Children's Virtual Reality workshop and was accepted to the Oculus Start Program.

Children undergoing MRI scans can often feel anxious and restless, leading to movement artifacts and the potential need for sedation during the procedure. To reduce anxiety and the need for sedation, we created Mission Control, an immersive VR experience that simulates a rocket landing to prepare children for the MRI process. After familiarizing themselves with the MRI room and scanner, children board their spaceship and observe the launch and landing through a window. To successfully land, they must focus on the target, keep their head still, and follow visual and audio cues to minimize head movement and safely reach the moon.

Technologies/features used

We created a Virtual Reality environment with the Unity Game Engine designed for the Meta Quest 3.

Assets/dependencies

Most of the 3D models have been omitted to comply with the licenses and usage rights granted at the time of purchase. Below are examples of assets essential for reproducing our MRIVR, which have been excluded to adhere to these regulations.

Credits for free assets

Office chair: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/office-chair-654794ae5bb44303a3fa5223f552f4e4

Recycle bin: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/recycle-bin-1128266865624dcf96a34bde46185d42

Licence

We do not authorize the use, modification or sharing of anything related to this project (software, source code, etc.) without our authorization.

Team members

• Ana Elisa Sousa
• Caroline Dakoure
• Naomi Catwell
• Antony Shruti
• Justin Sung

References/resources:

Brown RKJ, Petty S, O'Malley S, Stojanovska J, Davenport MS, Kazerooni EA, Fessahazion D. Virtual Reality Tool Simulates MRI Experience. Tomography. 2018 Sep;4(3):95-98. doi: 10.18383/j.tom.2018.00023. PMID: 30320208; PMCID: PMC6173786.

Le May S, Genest C, Hung N, Francoeur M, Guingo E, Paquette J, Fortin O, Guay S. The Efficacy of Virtual Reality Game Preparation for Children Scheduled for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Procedures (IMAGINE): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2022 Jun 13;11(6):e30616. doi: 10.2196/30616. PMID: 35700000; PMCID: PMC9237773.

Nakarada-Kordic I, Reay S, Bennett G, Kruse J, Lydon AM, Sim J. Can virtual reality simulation prepare patients for an MRI experience? Radiography (Lond). 2020 Aug;26(3):205-213. doi: 10.1016/j.radi.2019.11.004. Epub 2019 Nov 28. PMID: 32052767.

Releases · CRISPGroup/Mission-Control-MRI-VR