The Walt Disney Company and Philips have announced that Disney animated characters and stories are being brought into the Philips Ambient Experience for MRI at medical facilities in 87 countries around the world. This can be a way for children to have their attention shifted away from the clinical settings they are in, and offer a more comforting and engaging experience during scans, and help more children complete their exams successfully.

“At Disney, we believe stories have the power to bring comfort and emotional connection to children and families,” said Lisa Haines, Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, The Walt Disney Company. “We’re proud to collaborate with Philips to extend that impact into MRI rooms in a meaningful way — using our beloved stories and characters to help provide moments of escape, normalcy, and reassurance during what can be an intimidating experience for kids in hospitals.”

Disney shared the following about this new offering and its importance:

Evidence Supporting Improved Pediatric MRI Experience  

MRI scans can be challenging for young children. Entering a large, unfamiliar machine that makes loud noises — combined with the need to lie perfectly still for up to 40 minutes — can be intimidating. In fact, 66% [1] of pediatric patients report feeling anxious during MRI scans. This anxiety or claustrophobia can lead to re-scans, longer procedures and, in some cases, the need for sedation, increasing demands on care teams and stress for patients. These disruptions can limit the number of patients who can be seen each day, leading to potential delays.

A multi-center study conducted across six hospitals in Europe [2] demonstrates the impact of Ambient Experience with Disney themes. For children ages 6–10, post-scan pediatric patient stress levels were reduced by 43% compared to pre-exam. In addition, pauses during scans dropped by 63%.

“The data showed that a child-friendly audio-visual intervention reduced stress levels in young children and decreased scan disruptions, supporting a smoother MRI workflow,” said Emilio J. Inarejos Clemente, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Sant Joan de Deu Hospital, Barcelona, Spain. “This can help clinicians maintain efficiency and focus on delivering high-quality diagnostic imaging, helping more patients to be seen without compromising care.”

Reimagining the Pediatric MRI Experience Through Collaboration

The Philips Ambient Experience uses calming lighting, sound and visual elements to help patients relax before and during the exam. Within this approach, patients can choose beloved Disney stories and characters to incorporate into their Ambient Experience environment to reduce the anxiety and stress that often accompanies children undergoing an MRI exam. This builds on Philips’ focus on improving care experiences for patients, particularly children undergoing imaging.

Through longstanding collaborations with children’s hospitals worldwide, Disney has developed content and environments tailored for clinical settings, helping make healthcare experiences feel more familiar and less intimidating for young patients. This includes a recently fulfilled commitment of $100 million supporting more than 1,700 children’s hospitals and pediatric places of care in 45 countries — work that continues today.

In addition, thousands of hospital staff have been trained through Disney Institute programs, and millions of items have been distributed to children in care settings. Disney supports kids and families in children’s hospitals by bringing comfort and joy when it’s needed most.

As part of this ongoing charitable commitment, Disney has provided the art and imagery in the Ambient Experience at no cost. Children and families can choose characters from across Disney, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Marvel superheroes, favorites from Star Wars, Disney Princesses, and many more.

“By bringing Disney stories into the MRI environment, we are helping create a setting where children can feel more at ease and remain still during scans,” said Atul Gupta, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Diagnosis and Treatment at Philips. “Reducing stress can improve the experience for young patients and their families, while helping care teams deliver efficient, high-quality imaging so they can care for more children each day, supporting better care for more people.”

Today, Philips Ambient Experience for MRI is the exclusive MRI platform using these Disney themes. Early adopters of the themes include the pilot hospitals across Europe and industry leading hospitals — Rady Children’s Health of Orange County and Calderdale Royal Hospital — who are already seeing positive staff and patient impact.

Learn more about Disney’s commitment to delivering comfort and joy when it’s needed most at disney.com/childrenshospitals.

Among the hospitals receiving this new technological offering is Rady Children’s Health of Orange County, formerly Children’s Hospital of Orange County. Disney has a long partnership with this hospital that dates back to when Walt Disney helped found it. Decades later, Disneyland partners with CHOC, or RCHOC now, for the CHOC Walk in the Park. This raises funds for this hospital and the children who receive care there. This year’s CHOC Walk is on August 2nd. Join Team Daps Magic here!

What do you think about this new way for children to experience MRIs? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!