Enhancing Patient Experience With Internet Protocol Addressable Digital Light-Emitting Diode Lighting in Imaging...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Patient Experience
• Environmental Psychology

Background:

• Traditional methods to enhance clinical imaging quality focus on equipment, neglecting patient influence.
• Patient discomfort, anxiety, and environmental factors in imaging centers can negatively impact diagnostic image quality.
• Customizable ambient lighting offers patients greater control, improving their experience in clinical imaging environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of using customizable colored light-emitting diode (LED) lighting systems in clinical imaging.
• To explore patient preferences for ambient lighting color and its impact on the imaging experience.
• To determine if improved patient comfort through personalized lighting can indirectly enhance diagnostic image quality.

Main Methods:

• Installed internet protocol addressable LED lights using ZigBee standard in clinical imaging rooms.
• Recruited 35 healthy volunteers for a pilot study to gather data on lighting preferences.
• Utilized questionnaires with preprogrammed light/color settings to assess subject preferences for ambient lighting.

Main Results:

• Technical implementation of programmable LED lights required no hardware or electrical modifications.
• Significant variability in color perception was observed, but clear trends in color preference emerged.
• Blue (43%) and yellow (31%) were preferred as most relaxing, while red (69%) was least relaxing.

Conclusions:

• The majority of subjects indicated that colored lighting would improve their patient experience.
• Customizable lighting is predicted to enhance patient comfort and satisfaction, potentially reducing imaging artifacts.
• Personalized environmental factors, such as lighting, can positively influence patient compliance and diagnostic image quality.