Exploring the Use of Social Robots to Prepare Children for Radiological Procedures: A Focus Group Study

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Nigro, Massimiliano, Righini, Andrea, Spitale, Micol
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Nigro, Massimiliano
Righini, Andrea
Spitale, Micol
author_facet Nigro, Massimiliano
Righini, Andrea
Spitale, Micol
contents When children are anxious or scared, it can be hard for them to stay still or follow instructions during medical procedures, making the process more challenging and affecting procedure results. This is particularly true for radiological procedures, where long scan times, confined spaces, and loud noises can cause children to move, significantly impacting scan quality. To this end, sometimes children are sedated, but doctors are constantly seeking alternative non-pharmacological solutions. This work aims to explore how social robots could assist in preparing children for radiological procedures. We have conducted a focus group discussion with five hospital stakeholders, namely radiographers, paediatricians, and clinical engineers, to explore (i) the context regarding children's preparation for radiological procedures, hence their needs and how children are currently prepared, and (ii) the potential role of social robots in this process. The discussion was transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Among our findings, we identified three potential roles for a social robot in this preparation process: offering infotainment in the waiting room, acting as a guide within the hospital, and assisting radiographers in preparing children for the procedure. We hope that insights from this study will inform the design of social robots for pediatric healthcare.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_13881
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
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spellingShingle Exploring the Use of Social Robots to Prepare Children for Radiological Procedures: A Focus Group Study
Nigro, Massimiliano
Righini, Andrea
Spitale, Micol
Human-Computer Interaction
Robotics
When children are anxious or scared, it can be hard for them to stay still or follow instructions during medical procedures, making the process more challenging and affecting procedure results. This is particularly true for radiological procedures, where long scan times, confined spaces, and loud noises can cause children to move, significantly impacting scan quality. To this end, sometimes children are sedated, but doctors are constantly seeking alternative non-pharmacological solutions. This work aims to explore how social robots could assist in preparing children for radiological procedures. We have conducted a focus group discussion with five hospital stakeholders, namely radiographers, paediatricians, and clinical engineers, to explore (i) the context regarding children's preparation for radiological procedures, hence their needs and how children are currently prepared, and (ii) the potential role of social robots in this process. The discussion was transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Among our findings, we identified three potential roles for a social robot in this preparation process: offering infotainment in the waiting room, acting as a guide within the hospital, and assisting radiographers in preparing children for the procedure. We hope that insights from this study will inform the design of social robots for pediatric healthcare.
title Exploring the Use of Social Robots to Prepare Children for Radiological Procedures: A Focus Group Study
topic Human-Computer Interaction
Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.13881