Cryogenic Magnetic Resonance Imaging helmets

To take MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans of the brain, these helmets were worn by children and adults. The coils are aerials for picking up MRI signals. Naming them after the Jedi knights in Star Wars films encouraged children to put them on and not to be frightened.

MRI builds up a picture of the human body by using high frequency radio waves known as NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance). MRI does not expose the body to radiation or invasive surgery and it can image soft tissues more effectively than X-ray-based methods.

To take MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans of the brain, these helmets were worn by children and adults. The coils are aerials for picking up MRI signals. Naming them after the Jedi knights in Star Wars films encouraged children to put them on and not to be frightened.

MRI builds up a picture of the human body by using high frequency radio waves known as NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance). MRI does not expose the body to radiation or invasive surgery and it can image soft tissues more effectively than X-ray-based methods.

To take MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans of the brain, these helmets were worn by children and adults. The coils are aerials for picking up MRI signals. Naming them after the Jedi knights in Star Wars films encouraged children to put them on and not to be frightened.

MRI builds up a picture of the human body by using high frequency radio waves known as NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance). MRI does not expose the body to radiation or invasive surgery and it can image soft tissues more effectively than X-ray-based methods.

Commonly known as Jedi Helmets, because of their resemblance to the helmets used in the film The Return of the Jedi, these magnetic resonance helmets were prototypes built to enhance the image quality in children’s MRIs.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines allow us to see inside our bodies. They work by creating very large magnetic fields and radio waves that produce images of different parts of our bodies, such as bones and joints, organs, blood vessels and even the brain and spinal cord, which images can then be used to diagnose different ailments or injuries. These images are produced when the magnets inside the MRI activate the protons inside human water cells, which in turn send signals that get picked up and made into pictures. The concept behind these Jedi helmets was that the copper coils would work by enhancing the signals while using them due to their shape and that by naming them something familiar, children would feel more at ease during a potentially frightening experience.

This helmet is part of a collection of fourteen helmets that were used and donated by Hammersmith Hospital in London.