Many people often tend to stress over a MRI scan. They may feel claustrophobic and may end up making sudden movements during the scan, which can . Now that can definitely affect the outcome of the scan. It will result in poor quality scan and that is not at all good for diagnosis.
Researchers from Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch have devised a novel method to reduce MRI scan related anxiety. They have come up with animal assisted therapy, to be more specific, dog therapy, to reduce stress. This research is originally an idea of a 15 year old girl who had undergone an MRI Scan and had experienced claustrophobia and anxiety during the scan. So to combat this situation she imagined her dog in her mind and was slowly relieved of the tension. So she decided to practice the same with other patients for better results and soon was certified as a dog therapist. She has carried this research along with other doctors.
For the purpose of the study, the researchers selected 28 patients who were to undergo the scan. They were made to interact with a therapy dog 30 minutes before the scan. Six of the patients did not interact with the dog. The study findings showed that those who received dog therapy had lower levels of anxiety compared to those who did not.
"The most significant aspect of our findings was the fact that the time spent with a dog (animal-assisted therapy) could substitute for pharmacologic anxiolysis (anti-anxiety medication) often needed to assist patients having an MRI," Richard Ruchman, M.D., one of the authors of the study, was quoted as saying.
He further said that a lot of such similar researches on the lines of animal assisted therapy are being conducted in medical field. And he declared that this is the first study involving animal assistance in radiology department. "Current estimates are that 15 percent or more of patients cannot proceed with an MRI due to anxiety and a non-pharmacologic solution is noteworthy," he added. However the research is still in the preliminary stage as it has not been published in a peer reviewed journal.
