Siemens Healthineers teamed up with children’s book publisher LeYa and Area 23, an IPG Health Company, in an attempt to make magnetic resonance imaging fun while standing out among the competition. The campaign’s innovative use of data and focus on messaging made “Magnetic Stories” the Best in Show winner in the 2024 Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards.

MRI exams can be a frightening experience for adults, let alone for children. The loud sounds produced during imaging can range from 65 to 130 decibels: as loud as a jet plane or jackhammer. The banging, rumbling and squeals can prompt young patients to squirm, making it difficult for radiologists to capture clear images. 

Though the scans are loud, they are also predictable. For the campaign, the organizations worked with children’s book authors to create audiobooks to match the most common pediatric scans, syncing story moments with each sound in the scan. For example, in the stories’ narratives, one noise becomes a clumsy robot, another becomes a spaceship and a third becomes the rhythmic chug of a train.

The campaign, which launched in April 2024, is part of an ongoing initiative by Siemens Healthineers to improve the diagnostic experience for children. It developed an MRI machine that produces quieter sounds, as well as softer covers for children that allow them to lie more comfortably during the imaging process.

In a video made to accompany the campaign, young patients’ fear turns to smiles as they listen to the stories, while a parent describes the positive effect of the tales on their child and a technologist reaffirms the usefulness of the tool.

The company piloted “Magnetic Stories” at CUF, Portugal’s largest hospital network, with plans to expand it to other hospitals in Spain, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Some European online retailers are also carrying audio versions of the stories.