Disney and Philips bring together beloved storytelling and innovative technology to support kids undergoing MRI exams

For the first time, Disney stories and characters will be integrated into Philips Ambient Experience for MRI at medical facilities around the world to help create calmer, more comfortable patient experiences

Sponsored article by Philips

Royal Philips and The Walt Disney Company recently announced that beloved Disney animated characters and stories are being incorporated directly into Philips Ambient Experience for MRI at medical facilities in 87 countries worldwide to support children undergoing imaging procedures. For many children, this type of immersive environment can help shift attention away from the clinical setting, creating a more comforting and engaging experience during scans and helping more children complete their exams successfully.

“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.”

“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.”

Evidence supporting improved paediatric 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 paediatric 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. These disruptions can limit the number of patients who can be seen each day, leading to potential delays.

Child-friendly, immersive content in paediatric MRI settings can help reduce operational disruptions, such as re-scans, long pauses, or aborted procedures. A multi-centre study conducted across six hospitals in Europe² highlights the impact of Ambient Experience with Disney themes. For children ages 6–10, post-scan paediatric patient stress levels were reduced by 43% compared to pre-exam. In addition, pauses during scans dropped by 63% compared to procedures without intervention.

“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 paediatric MRI experience through collaboration

Philips innovates to make MRI exams faster, more comfortable and easier for patients. A key part of this effort is Philips Ambient Experience, which uses calming lighting, sound and visual elements to help patients relax before and during the exam. Within this approach, Disney-themed content is incorporated as part of the Ambient Experience environment to offer comfort with beloved Disney stories and characters to reduce anxiety and stress in children undergoing MRI exams. 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 paediatric places of care in 45 countries. 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 Philips Ambient Experience at no cost. Children and families can choose characters from across Disney, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Marvel superheroes, favourites from Star Wars, Disney Princesses and many more.

Philips has a rich history of driving paediatric innovation through research, strategic partnerships, and industry-leading paediatric technology, including monitoring, echocardiology, and AI-driven, data-informed solutions. Key initiatives include specialised, child-friendly imaging solutions such as Paediatric Coaching, Scan Buddy and Kitten Scanners, helping to improve clinical workflows and enhance care experiences for children, supporting the broader goal of delivering 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, Calderdale Royal Hospital in the UK and Rady Children’s Health in Orange County in the US and, which are already seeing positive staff and patient impact.

Find out more about Ambient Experience for MR technology.

References

De Amorim e Silva et al., 2006
Herlev Hospital Denmark, Hôpital Robert Debré France; Hospital de Sant Joan de Déu Spain; Instytut Centrum Zdrowia Matki Polki Poland; Universitätsklinikum Bonn Germany; UZ Brussel Belgium.

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