Lost in k-Space: An Open-Source MR-Physics Escape Room
Abstract
Introduction. Operating an MR scanner for technical and clinical research requires multidisciplinary competencies beyond MR physics, including safety management and teamwork. Gamification, particularly educational escape rooms, have been associated with improved motivation, engagement and knowledge retention in health professional education. Materials and Methods. We developed an MR-physics-themed educational escape room for the 41st Annual Meeting of the ESMRMB. Designed for teams of four with a time limit of 25 minutes, the room reproduced the atmosphere of an MR control room. The five puzzles covered the Larmor equation, sequence composition, MR safety and acoustical identification of MR sequences. Custom ESP32 electronics allowed the puzzles to communicate in real time with each other and with the game master Results. The room ran without technical interruptions and was played by 39 teams (approximately 160 participants); 12 solved it (escape rate 31%), with a median solution time of 21 minutes and 53 seconds. Early-career researchers acted as game masters. Discussion. The escape rate aligns with comparable activities targeting scientific audiences. Difficulty can be tuned by adjusting puzzle obscurity, component availability, required prior knowledge and mental leaps. A modified version could usefully supplement mandatory MR safety training. Code, schematics, machining files and documentation are released as open source.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{rauber2026lost,
title = {{Lost in k-Space: An Open-Source MR-Physics Escape Room}},
author = {Sabine Melanie Räuber and Marta Brigid Maggioni and Francesco Santini},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.09616},
eprint = {2608.09616},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.09616},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Lost in k-Space: An Open-Source MR-Physics Escape Room
AU - Sabine Melanie Räuber
AU - Marta Brigid Maggioni
AU - Francesco Santini
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/10
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.09616
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.09616
AB - Introduction. Operating an MR scanner for technical and clinical research requires multidisciplinary competencies beyond MR physics, including safety management and teamwork. Gamification, particularly educational escape rooms, have been associated with improved motivation, engagement and knowledge retention in health professional education. Materials and Methods. We developed an MR-physics-themed educational escape room for the 41st Annual Meeting of the ESMRMB. Designed for teams of four with a time limit of 25 minutes, the room reproduced the atmosphere of an MR control room. The five puzzles covered the Larmor equation, sequence composition, MR safety and acoustical identification of MR sequences. Custom ESP32 electronics allowed the puzzles to communicate in real time with each other and with the game master Results. The room ran without technical interruptions and was played by 39 teams (approximately 160 participants); 12 solved it (escape rate 31%), with a median solution time of 21 minutes and 53 seconds. Early-career researchers acted as game masters. Discussion. The escape rate aligns with comparable activities targeting scientific audiences. Difficulty can be tuned by adjusting puzzle obscurity, component availability, required prior knowledge and mental leaps. A modified version could usefully supplement mandatory MR safety training. Code, schematics, machining files and documentation are released as open source.
ER -