Royal Philips and The Walt Disney Company EMEA are collaborating to test the effects of custom-made animation, including specially-made Disney stories, in the Philips Ambient Experience. This solution integrates architecture, design, and enabling technologies—such as dynamic lighting, video projections, and sound—to personalize the clinical environment and create a relaxing atmosphere. Philips will begin the clinical research project in six European hospitals this summer and complete the pilot project’s results later this year. It is the first time Disney has collaborated as part of this type of clinical research project.
 
Philips will investigate how Philips Ambient Experience can improve pediatric MRI patient and clinician experience with a series of animated stories, including some of Disney’s most beloved characters. Philips Ambient Experience will render six pieces of original, stylized Disney animation intended to reduce a child’s fear and anxiety in the MRI process. The Disney animation features characters like Mickey Mouse, Ariel, Marvel’s Avengers, Star Wars’ Yoda and others. The research pilot’s goal is to help alleviate children's anxiety, create bonds, and improve staff’s ability to carry out tasks in MRI scanning rooms across six European hospitals.

 
MRI scans can be challenging for many patients, especially children, who are anxious or claustrophobic. Philips Ambient Experience—with 2,000 installations worldwide—helps manage these challenges by creating an engaging, welcoming, relaxing, and multi-sensorial imaging environment. Patients can personalize the room’s lighting, video, and sound by selecting a theme. This offers a feeling of empowerment and control over the procedure and provides a positive focus on the ambient theme. Ambient Experience Patient In-bore Connect helps them relax, follow directions, and minimize motion once in the scanner using video content aligned with the MRI procedure to provide the patient information and guidance during scanning as well as scan duration information. This is increasingly important for younger pediatric patients undergoing MR scans who must remain still to reduce need for repeat scans.
 
The partnership combines Philips’ vast clinical knowledge and expertise with a deep understanding of patient needs with Disney’s masterful storytelling. Children can select Disney content featuring their favorite character to provide a sense of familiarity, control, and comfort. From joining Aladdin and Jasmine on a magical carpet ride to gently swinging through city skyscrapers with Spiderman, each story is specially designed to calm and support the child through their experience.

 
“A visit to the hospital can be quite intimidating for people, and especially children, where a more patient-friendly, patient-centric environment could help improve the patient experience and help drive first-time-right imaging for improved outcomes,” Kees Wesdorp, Philips’ Chief Business Leader of Precision Diagnosis, told the press. “With this pilot study, we will investigate the impact of Philips Ambient Experience including Disney’s specially developed themes to empower children with a positive experience to help them throughout the medical procedure. Philips has always taken a human-centric approach to healthcare. Together, we can make a real difference for thousands of young patients going through medical procedures each day.”
 
“I have seen first-hand that MRI scans can be intimidating for children, and I like how focused Philips is on the patient experience,” added Jan Koeppen, president of the Walt Disney Company, EMEA. “At Disney, we look forward to complementing Philips’ MRI experience with our stories and characters. We are excited to see the results of the clinical research and to quantify the impact our characters can have in this environment.”

 
It was identified in a recent New Economics Foundation study that the well-known Disney characters help build trust for children in anxious circumstances, in addition to creating a positive experience. The research also indicated that it can inspire and create positive feelings, experiences, and memories through the power of Disney’s storytelling and characters.