Supporting Children in Medical Settings, Pokémon Created a Video to Prepare Small Children for an MRI Examination

1. Providing Comfort to Children Undergoing MRI Exams

Pediatric healthcare has long faced a significant challenge: children often feel terrified of MRI exams. To address this, we collaborated with Canon Medical Systems Corporation to produce a primer video titled, “Let’s Find Out About MRI Exams With Pokémon!”

Medical professionals require MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans to accurately assess illnesses or injuries in patients. However, the process is quite demanding. The machines produce loud, rhythmic clanging sounds, and children need to remain absolutely still inside a cramped space for a long time.

Many children struggle to enter the machine out of fear, or find it impossible to stay still once inside. Consequently, doctors sometimes must use sedatives to complete the scan while the child sleeps, despite the potential risk of side effects.

Medical providers often feel caught in a hard place. They want to avoid sedation whenever possible, but they can’t proceed with the scan without it.

2. Partnering With Medical Manufacturers to Solve Challenges

Canon Medical Systems, a manufacturer and supplier of MRI systems and other medical equipment, stepped up to do something about this dilemma. To help put children at ease, they decided to produce a primer video, a tool designed to explain the procedure and reduce anxiety before treatment begins.

Most medical facilities currently create their own primer materials, using pictures or physical models to explain the process verbally. However, this approach places a considerable burden on healthcare providers and makes it difficult to convey information effectively to young patients.

One representative from Canon Medical Systems explained,

“As a company that provides the actual equipment used in these exams, we wanted to help tackle these challenges. In Japan, primer videos are still relatively rare compared to other countries, so we decided to move forward with this project to meet the urgent needs of pediatric healthcare professionals.”

After learning of the situation, The Pokémon Company approached Cannon Medical Systems to see how we could contribute to the medical field.

As our representative explained: “Our corporate philosophy focuses on enriching both the real and virtual worlds. While entering the medical field on its own is a complex task, we believed we could help by creating a video that provides children with a sense of security.”

3. Video Production With Sincerity and Care for Children

The result of our collaboration was the video “Let’s Find Out About MRI Exams With Pokémon!”

During production, we focused on being absolutely truthful in explaining what children could expect during their MRI examination. For example, we recorded the actual, loud mechanical sounds of the MRI machine and included them without any editing. We also used a 360-degree camera to capture the view from a child’s eye level.

One project team member noted: “Medical staff told us that if a child feels even slightly like they were lied to with the video, they may refuse to undergo future exams. We kept that in mind throughout the process, making sure to honestly explain even the potentially scary parts of the experience.”

4. Pokémon Deliver Support Through Sight and Sound

A variety of Pokémon appear in the video in scenes where information is provided in captions or illustrations. We held extensive discussions to determine which Pokémon to feature in which situations, and what facial expressions and poses they should make.

As an example, to convey the necessity of keeping perfectly still, we chose the Sleeping Pokémon, Snorlax, and the Imitation Pokémon, Sudowoodo, who stays perfectly still by pretending to be a tree. In the scene explaining which items cannot enter the MRI room due to the magnetic fields it uses, we chose to feature the Magnet Pokémon Magnemite.

The team also used expressions of Pokémon to help children understand the nuances of the explanation. For instance, Pikachu looks surprised when the video introduces the loud noises produced during an MRI.

Communicating these sounds is an important part of the video. To ensure children listen closely to the audio, we included Pikachu’s voice from beginning to the end.

We want children who watch it to feel as though Pikachu will be cheering them on throughout the actual MRI exam.

5. An Ally to Children Doing Their Best with Treatment

We released the video on YouTube so that anyone can see it. As word spread among healthcare professionals, an increasing number of hospitals began using it for MRI exam preparation.

Feedback from clinical sites has been positive. As one provider noted, “Because patients can watch the video as much as they want at home, they arrive with a much better understanding of the exam compared to earlier preparation methods.”

As more patients successfully undergo MRIs without sedation, medical staff have observed a shift in children’s attitudes toward treatment.

When sedatives are used, the exam ends while the children are asleep, which tends to lead to a passive attitude toward medical treatment. However, when they complete the exam while awake, they often feel a sense of agency and pride, thinking “I did that exam all by myself!” 

One nurse in charge of patient preparation shared, “They say, ‘mind over matter,’ and this video is proving that. It positively impacts not only the child’s physical wellbeing, but their mental wellbeing too.”

We hope to help as many children as possible to proudly say, “I was able to do that exam because I had Pokémon on my side.” Going forward, we will continue to explore new ways of offering our assistance to the medical community.