Magnetic Stories transforms a giant, cold, scary machine into a gateway to a delightful experience for pediatric patients.

With Magnetic Stories, Siemens Healthineers, a top Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) manufacturer, transforms scary MRI noises, which can be louder than a military jet, into beautiful children’s audiobooks. This innovation changes how hospitals, radiologists, parents, and children interact with Siemens Healthineers’ MRIs.

Now, pediatric patients can immerse themselves in original stories during their scans, easing their fears inside the machine.

Siemens Healthineers’s MRIs have the Conformité Européenne (CE) mark and 510(k) certification for clinical use in Europe. Magnetic Stories don’t interfere with the machine’s functionalities or with the clinical results and doesn’t require a separate certification.

Cancer is the leading cause of deaths for children and teenagers in Portugal, with more than 400 new cases every year (in a country with 11 million people). The survival rate in the country is around 85%, but the consequences of treatment are responsible for a lower quality of life for 2/3 of survivors.

Getting an MRI is a scary experience for most children. Radiology technicians usually prefer to have patients under 12 fully sedated with general anesthesia, in order to help them get through the anxiety-inducing experience. For kids over 12, more than 85% report having a fear of the MRI machine due to the noises.

Siemens Healthineers, the major manufacture of MRI machines in Europe, was in a prime position to help turn this negative experience with their product around. And Leya, one of Portugal’s leading children’s book publishers, was an obvious choice to help bring Magnetic Stories to life, as it enabled us to bring something kids already love into an experience that frightens them, and make it more pleasant using the power of innovation and storytelling.

Article 19 of the Portuguese Advertising Code, which rules Healthcare/RX/Pharma communications, solely prohibits “advertising for medical treatments and medicines that can only be obtained with a prescription,” which is not the case for Magnetic Stories.

Magnetic Stories is a library of children’s audiobooks that transforms scary MRI noises into a wondrous experience. Our target audience is diverse, covering pediatric patients and their parents, as well radiologists and hospital purchasing departments.

Siemens Healthineers is constantly bringing breakthrough innovations to market. This can mean employing the latest AI technology to increase scan speed and improve image quality of its MRIs. But it can also mean leveraging the power of storytelling to improve patient experience. This was our goal with Magnetic Stories, a library of unique audiobooks crafted to integrate the sounds of the most common pediatric MRI scans, turning their dreadful sounds into a delightful narrative.

Magnetic Stories is a unique audiobook collection that transforms a scary MRI into a wondrous experience for younger patients.

Every MRI scan makes a unique sequence of sounds, so it is possible to predict when each of them will occur in the scan. We collected the sound sequences of the most common pediatric MRI scans (cranial, liver, spine, sela turcica, and ears) and, in partnership with renowned authors and sound designers, produced audiobooks that synch story moments precisely with each sound of the scan.

With Magnetic Stories, we are giving new and delightful meaning to all MRI noises –turning the fastspin echo beeping noise into a cute robot talking, and turning the constant pumping noise of the helium recondenser from the cold head into the sound of a flying train, for example.

An MRI produces one of the loudest and most stressful sounds. It can reach 130 decibels, louder than a military jet. If this is disturbing for you, imagine what it can be for children under cancer treatment.

To change children’s experience during this difficult time of their lives, Siemens Healthineers partnered with Leya to create Magnetic Stories, turning scary MRI noises into beautiful children’s audiobooks.

In collaboration with radiology technicians, we integrate our recorded stories to the set-up of different MRI scanners, so that each audiobook can play in perfect synch with its corresponding MRI.

The stories are played through non-magnetic, MRI compatible headphones, which use piezoelectric transducers to convert electrical signals into sound waves. These headphones work by receiving the audio signals from the MRI control room and delivering them to the patient's ears.

Siemens Healthineers launched Magnetic Stories at CUF, Portugal’s leading hospital network and it’s now available at all 25 CUF hospitals and clinics.

The next step is expanding to Spain, using the Iberian Peninsula as the launch pad for other European countries like Germany, Italy, and the UK.

The pilot project was a success, helping Siemens Healthineers establish its brand as one of the most innovative MRI manufacturers. The Magnetic Stories audiobooks transcended the hospital setting and are now available at Leya’s online store on Kobo, which is evidence that the stories aren’t just good in the context of an MRI, they are just good stories that kids love.

Some patients need to repeat exams every two months, so an initiative like this becomes a powerful ally throughout their care journey. With Magnetic Stories, we are turning every MRI scan into an experience of magic and wonder.