Children's Heart Surgery Fund appeal to buy revolutionary baby MRI incubator pod for Leeds Children's Hospital
The £155,000 machine they hope to buy is the first of its kind in the UK for babies with congenital heart disease and heart MRI imaging.
The first £150,000 has come from trusts and foundations, organisations and individuals.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe Leeds Children's Heart Surgery Fund's JUstGIving appeal has rasied £2,240 towards a £5,000 target to complete the funding for the new machine.
To obtain a useful image of a baby's heart requires a general anaesthetic, which carries a risk of cardiac arrest, especially in children with a congenital heart defect.
To avoid a general anaesthetic, some babies have a CT scan instead which uses radiation and is linked to an increased incidence of cancer in adult patients with congenital heart disease.
This new MRI incubator or 'baby pod' allows babies to be transported directly from the ward into the MRI department, where scans can be conducted free from complications and distress.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdDr Malenka Bissell, clinical lecturer in Paediatric Cardiology, said: "The baby incubator will allow us a safe transfer to the MRI scans without any Covid exposure, it will help us keeping the babies warm during transport and the reduction in noise will make it much more likely babies will stay asleep for the whole scan.
"It will also give us the opportunity to add extra equipment to also make it safe for our sicker babies to have an MRI scan."
Sharon Milner, Leeds Children's Heart Surgery Fund, chief executive officer, said: “We are so very near to reaching the target for this wonderful incubator which will improve outcomes for thousands of babies in the future.
"This state-of-the-art pod will lead to more successful MRI scans and reduce the risk to the youngest of heart patients.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"Please help us support hearts for life over the festive season, and donate what you can. Thank you."
To contribute, gp to https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/baby-MRI-incubatorThe Children's Heart Surgery Fund supports children and adults born with congenital heart defects across Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.
Working alongside the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit at LGI, it is funded by generous donations from the general public and fundraisers' efforts.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.