Assessing Environmental Factors in Healthcare Facilities in Order to Improve the Experience of Patients, Staff, and the Quality of Imaging Procedures

Tremendous technological advances have occurred in recent years that enable easily controlled lights, sound, temperature, airflow as well as sensatory experiences such as smell or vibrations. While in some fields, these technologies are readily used, their potential application within healthcare environments has not yet been studied. In this study, we want to investigate how environmental factors including light, sound, temperature, smell, and sensatory experiences such as vibration are being perceived by subjects to develop environmental strategies using those components to create a more relaxing, and comforting experience for patients prior, during and after an imaging examination and for staff working in such environments. This data that will also guide to encourage changes of patient staff facility interactions to further improve the healthcare experience and quality of imaging examinations. To get a complete set of data, we plan to include volunteer participants, patients scheduled for imaging examinations, and staff working in the healthcare environment. This study has up to three different components: A, filling out survey forms to learn more about the perception of experience factors B, participating in facility experiences that may expose subjects to different facility factors and will then assess responses using additional survey forms or electronic measurement and data capture devices and C, during an imaging study the environment experience may be altered and assessments will be done to determine how relaxed the subject remains during the imagining study and the degree of motion induced artifacts. Feedback data will be obtained through survey tools as well as available consumer grade wearable devices that can continuously capture physiological parameters such as heart rate, motion, body perspiration and muscle tension. Only participants in the patient, staff, or volunteer populations who are not receiving an MRI imaging examination will participate in utilizing the wearable devices, as the wearable devices are not compatible with the MRI system. Patients receiving a PET/CT examination will be able to utilize a wearable device. For patients scheduled for an imaging examination the findings and perception of environmental factors will be compared with the image quality of the imaging examination and the feedback responses.