LEGO closes applications for MRI scanners following overwhelming demand

The LEGO Foundation has closed applications for its brick-built MRI scanners in the face of overwhelming demand from hospitals.

Earlier this week, the LEGO Foundation delivered on its promise to make the LEGO scanners more widely available by announcing plans to donate 600 sets to hospitals around the world. Applications for the educational models – designed to help reassure children going through an MRI scan – opened two days ago on a first-come, first-served basis.

However, interest in the initiative has apparently been so high that applications have already closed. “We’re overwhelmed by the immediate interest in the LEGO MRI scanner and are thrilled so many models will be making their way to hospitals all over the world to help children learn through play,” the LEGO Foundation shared in a statement.

• LEGO is donating MRI scanner models to hospitals
• LEGO is working to make the MRI scanner models more available

“For now, we have closed the sign-up form and will continue to evaluate how we best support demand in the future. We thank you all for your support and enthusiasm.”

Given the global PR effort that surrounded this campaign, it’s not wholly surprising to see that the response has already been titanic. Whether there will be 600 valid claims in there – recipients must be based in a radiology department at a hospital with an MRI scanner used for kids – remains to be seen, but it seems likely that this particular window for claiming a LEGO scanner has now closed.

The question now is whether the LEGO Foundation can find a way to make the models even more readily accessible – if not by donating more sets, then perhaps by sharing the instructions, for instance, and allowing hospitals (or local LEGO clubs) to source the parts for themselves.

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