Teen builds LEGO replica of MRI machine to help young patients feel more comfortable with scans

MINNEAPOLIS -- A teenager who knows what it's like to have an MRI scan wants to help other kids get through it.

Henry Franken was 10 years old when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had a surgery to remove it. Though the tumor was benign, he had to go through extensive physical and occupational therapy.

Now, he's built an MRI scanner out of LEGOs, and donated it to the Cancers and Blood Disorders clinic at Children's Minnesota's Minneapolis hospital.

"I want to give it to the clinic where I would always go for my follow-ups, and just be able to show other kids that it's not as scary as it seems," Franken said.

Franken said he modeled his LEGO machine after similar images online, and adjusted it to fit his vision. 

"The actual MRI part comes off and you can open it up, and you can see the big magnet in there," he said. 

Franken said he got the Lego pieces off an online marketplace. He said it took him a couple of hours to put them all together.