Providing medical care to young children presents a variety of challenges. Among them is MRI examinations, which require a child to stay perfectly still during a lengthy examination that produces loud noises peculiar to MRI systems. At Pokémon we want to support children undergoing medical care, and to help children undergo an MRI examination we created a video that explains the procedure from the perspective of a child. The video, produced in collaboration with Canon Medical Systems Corporation, features Pokémon who describe in simple terms what an MRI is all about. The presence of Pokémon helps to ease children’s anxiety before they undergo their examination.
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is an advanced technique used to get a correct understanding of a patient’s illness or injury. Undergoing an MRI examination can be challenging even for adults, owing to the need to remain absolutely still within a confined space for a considerably long time. Also, during an MRI examination various loud, unfamiliar noises are produced. With children, the procedure can be especially difficult. Sometimes children are too afraid to get into the MRI scanning machine; sometimes they may get into the machine but are unable to remain still enough. To overcome these difficulties, in some cases a child is sedated for the duration of the procedure. But use of sedatives is not without risk, creating a dilemma for the medical provider.
To overcome this dilemma, Canon Medical, a manufacturer and supplier of MRI and other medical systems, decided to produce a video that would prepare young children for an MRI examination. Working with medical care providers, Canon Medical sought to ease the anxiety of children before their MRI examination. Before, medical staff typically tried to alleviate young children’s fear through use of original materials, models, pictures, etc. of their own making. This approach placed a considerable burden on the medical staff, however – and with no guarantee that they would succeed in mitigating their young patients’ fear of undergoing an MRI.
Canon Medical, as a provider of MRI scanning systems, was eager to do what it could to support efforts to prepare children for undergoing an MRI. Producing a video seemed the logical answer, but Japan lagged behind other countries in creating videos specifically for preparing young patients. Canon Medical decided to produce such a video, however, partly in response to strong demand from professionals involved in pediatric care.
At Pokémon, we too had for some time considered how we might make positive contributions to medical care. Our corporate philosophy calls for enrichment of both the real and virtual worlds, and one way Pokémon could enrich the real world, we thought, was by supporting medical care needs. With this in mind we approached Canon Medical and offered to help where possible. Our offer was accepted, and together Pokémon and Canon Medical began collaborating in video production. The result was a video featuring Pokémon explaining MRI examinations to young children.
In producing the video, we focused on being absolutely truthful in explaining what children could expect during their MRI examination. For example, the loud sounds produced during an MRI were included in the video without adjustment. Also, the film was shot using 360-degree camera images, to present a truly realistic picture of what a child might expect. The camera was set at the height of a child.
Showing the reality of an MRI examination was deemed absolutely necessary; otherwise a child might later complain that the MRI experience differed from the video’s explanation, and refuse to ever undergo another MRI examination. In this way, the video was created to show exactly what an MRI exam entails – even those aspects that might frighten the child.
A variety of Pokémon appear in the video in scenes where information is provided in captions or illustrations. Great care was taken in deciding which Pokémon to feature in which situations, and in determining their facial expressions and poses. As an example, to convey the necessity of keeping perfectly still during the MRI examination, we inserted the Sleeping Pokémon Snorlax and the Imitation Pokémon Sudowoodo, who stays perfectly still pretending to be a tree. In the scene introducing what items can’t be taken into the examination room because an MRI uses magnetic fields, we chose to feature the Magnet Pokémon Magnemite. In the scene introducing the loud noises produced during an MRI, a very surprised Pikachu appears. In every case, we made a conscious effort to convey the nuances of the video content through the looks and expressions of the Pokémon.
One unique feature of the video is the presence of Pikachu’s voice from start to finish. Because conveying the sounds heard during an MRI examination is an important aspect of the video, this measure was taken to let the child sense Pikachu’s presence not only visually but aurally as well. Here we aimed to give the child undergoing an MRI a reassuring sense that Pikachu is always there, offering moral support. 
To make the video accessible by anyone, Canon Medical released it on YouTube. Its posting has steadily come to be known among more and more medical providers, and the number of hospitals using it to prepare young patients for MRI examinations has gradually grown. What’s more, since the video can be viewed at home – over and over again if desired – understanding of the MRI procedure has deepened compared to earlier preparation methods. Also, the number of examinations that can be performed without use of sedatives has gradually increased. In these ways, children’s approach to medical treatment has undergone some important changes.
Provided：Dr.Shimokawa Shoko, Kurume University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery
Nursing staff who oversee preparing young children for their MRI examination say that when sedatives are used, because the examination ends while the children are asleep, they tend to take a passive attitude toward medical treatment. But when no sedatives are used, they say, children take a positive attitude toward their treatment and are proud of their determination to undergo the MRI procedure without artificial assistance. In this way, preparing for an MRI examination using a video positively impacts not only the child’s physical wellbeing but their mental wellbeing too.
Today, we aim to see more and more children discover the pride that comes with undergoing medical examinations with help from Pokémon. Going forward, we will continue to explore new ways of offering our assistance to the medical community.
