Virtual Reality at CHEO: Reducing a 550-Day Waitlist to One Week
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2 min reading time
CHEO is using VR to make MRIs easier for kids! By reducing anxiety, VR has cut wait times from 550 days to under a week—all without anesthesia.
Like many hospitals, the CHEO faces challenges: long waitlists, staff shortages, and limited resources. But instead of accepting the status quo, CHEO found an innovative way to improve care for children—Virtual Reality (VR).
The Challenge: Long Waits & Anesthesia Risks
Getting an MRI scan can be stressful, especially for young children who need to stay completely still. For kids under six, general anesthesia (GA) is often used to help them relax—but it comes with drawbacks.
Stressful for families: It is never easy for parents to see their child put under GA with powerful medication and potential risks.
Time-consuming: At CHEO, the wait for an MRI with GA was 550 days, and the procedure itself took 3.5 hours with prep and recovery.
Expensive & limited: Anesthesia requires extra staff and resources.
The Breakthrough: VR Makes MRIs Easier
At the 2024 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Congress, CHEO shared a pilot project that changed everything. By using VR headsets, children could practice and experience an MRI in a game-based mission, followed by a realistic simulation, completely changing their perception of the experience before the actual scan.
With just one VR headset, costing only a few dollars per day, kids became comfortable with the sights and sounds of an MRI ahead of time. This reduced their anxiety and helped them stay still—without needing anesthesia.
The Results: 90% success rate!
The impact was immediate:
✅ MRI appointment times dropped from 3.5 hours to 1.5 hours
✅ In the 36-patient pilot, wait times dropped from 550 days toless than a week—a dramatic improvement from the existing backlog at the time*
✅ Less need for anesthesia, saving resources and reducing risks
✅ Parents spent less time at the hospital, easing disruption to daily life
✅ Some kids even had fun during their MRI experience!
*These results are based on a case study with 36 patients. Actual wait times may vary beyond this pilot study.
This case study alone suggests potential savings of approximately $2600/patient—demonstrating how VR can reduce costs while improving patient care.
Why This Matters
What makes CHEO stand out isn’t just the technology—it’s their mindset. Their willingness to challenge the status quo, to embrace innovation, and to believe that healthcare can be better for patients and healthcare professionals. Saving hundreds of thousands of dollars per year will also put smiles on a few faces. It took a handful of determined individuals, a spark of curiosity, and the patience to see it through.
This case study is more than a success story about VR. It is a testament to what can happen when we dare to believe that change is possible—and then make it happen.
