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Global Ads Spotlight: How Siemens Healthineers made MRIs magical by turning fear into fairy tales
In a world where clanging, thumping, and whirring of an MRI can feel like an alien invasion, Siemens Healthineers decided to rewrite the script - literally. With Magnetic Stories, they swapped anxiety-inducing noise for immersive children's audiobooks, proving that sometimes, the best medicine is a good story.
Hospitals were never designed to feel like amusement parks, but Siemens Healthineers came dangerously close to changing that. In 2024, the brand unveiled Magnetic Stories, an audiobook library that transformed the unnerving sounds of paediatric MRI machines into whimsical soundscapes woven into bespoke children's stories.
MRI scans, for the uninitiated, aren't just loud - they're louder than a military jet. For adults, that's unpleasant. For children, especially those undergoing cancer treatment, it is terrifying.
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Until now, the common solution for fidgety or frightened young patients was sedation. That meant longer procedures, higher risks, and stressed-out parents. Siemens Healthineers decided to tackle the problem not with more tech alone, but with creativity that addressed the emotional experience.
The process was meticulous. The team recorded the distinctive audio signatures of pediatric MRI scans - the rhythmic thumps, echoing bangs, and beeping patterns - and partnered with Portuguese children's book publisher Leya to craft stories where those very sounds became part of the plot.
One moment, the "beep-beep" might be a robot speaking; the next, a distant train carrying the hero to their next adventure. The stories were then synced with actual scan sequences so that what was once pure noise became a perfectly timed soundtrack.
Piloted in Portugal's CUF hospital network, the project quickly rolled out to all 25 CUF locations. The initiative did more than calm kids; it made them want to come back - a strange, almost magical reverse for hospital visits.
Some children who repeat scans every two months began looking forward to the "next chapter." Parents and medical staff reported calmer sessions, fewer delays, and less reliance on anaesthesia.
And it didn't stop there. The stories jumped from hospital headphones to home tablets, landing on Kobo's online store. If a narrative could soothe a child mid-MRI, it could certainly make bedtime easier. Siemens Healthineers has since begun expanding into Spain, with plans for AI-driven real-time storytelling that adapts to any scan sequence, in multiple languages.
Awards juries loved it too. Magnetic Stories bagged a Grand Prix at Cannes Lions in the Pharma category, multiple top honours at the Clio Awards, "Best in Show" at the Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards, and a shortlist at the D&AD Awards.
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