Reimagining the X-ray exam experience for children and staff

Featuring Philips
March 15 2025
2 min read

Ranked among the nation's best children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s of Alabama serves patients from every Alabama county and nearly every state. After a successful Philips Ambient Experience implementation in the CT suite, Children’s introduced it to the X-ray suite. The intent was to bring a sense of calm to each patient and caregiver by softening an otherwise sterile environment. The transformation was immediate, and an improved patient experience quickly followed.

At-a-glance:

Ambient Experience integrates dynamic lighting, sound and video to create an engaging environment designed to ease patient stress
Implementing Philips Ambient Experience in the X-ray suite at Children’s of Alabama created a calming environment that significantly improved patient compliance, positively impacting workflow and staff productivity

Nurse selecting Ambient Experience Theme for X-Ray Room at Children’s of Alabama

Ambient Experience creates a calming and child-friendly environment for Children’s of Alabama

Children’s mission is to provide the finest pediatric health services in an environment that fosters excellence in research and medical education. They were looking to continue to enhance their care environments to ease patient stress and positively impact workflow and staff productivity. After success with Ambient Experience solutions in the CT suite, they targeted the busy pediatric X-ray suite which was running at full capacity and struggling with patient compliance.

Inpatient X-rays of young children are not elective – they are mandatory. So however the image is acquired, it must be done successfully. Adding to the challenge, parents/caregivers often accompany their youngsters into the exam room and their own anxiety can be contagious. Through years of experience imaging young children, both Karen Knight, Diagnostic Imaging Manager, and Latasha Traylor, X-ray Lead Technologist, understand that the child is only going to be as calm as the parent and the parent only as calm as the child. Therefore any ‘solution’ must positively impact each.

Finding an innovative solution

Ambient Experience integrates dynamic lighting, sound and video to create an engaging environment designed to ease patient stress and positively impact workflow and productivity. These solutions are based on years of patient-centric design research and close collaboration with healthcare providers around the world.

By removing the negative elements and impersonal atmosphere associated with an X-ray suite, and replacing them with positive elements that soothe and distract, satisfaction can be improved for both patients, families and staff.

The new X-ray suite at Children’s uses dynamic lighting, sound and video and includes over 40 different theme choices, which can be selected by the technologist and/or the patient.

Decisive results for all*

Children's of Alabama discovered that Ambient Experience solutions provide a differentiating factor in their delivery of pediatric care. In 2022, Children’s was recognized as one of the best children’s hospitals in all 10 specialties tracked by U.S. News and World Report. Their collaboration with Philips helps sustain that commitment to exceptional care.

With the latest room upgrade, Children’s has experienced an increase in patient compliance and satisfaction as well as improved staff efficiency and satisfaction when using the X-ray room with Ambient Experience solutions. Exam time has been shortened and patient throughput has improved.