{"id":677179,"date":"2026-06-01T03:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T03:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/677179\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T03:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T03:49:09","slug":"rady-childrens-health-in-orange-county-uses-disney-characters-to-help-with-mri-scans-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/677179\/","title":{"rendered":"Rady Children’s Health in Orange County uses Disney characters to help with MRI scans for kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORANGE, Calif. (KABC) — A Southern California hospital is introducing new MRI technology designed to make scans less intimidating for children by blending medical imaging with familiar Disney characters, offering a calmer, more engaging experience for young patients.<\/p>\n

Loud noises and confined spaces often make MRI scans difficult for children, many of whom require sedation to remain still long enough for accurate imaging. The new approach aims to change that by transforming the procedure into an interactive storytelling experience.<\/p>\n

“Are you ready to go in the spaceship?” a technician asks 8-year-old Jordan Mosley as he prepares for his scan.<\/p>\n

Mosley became the first child in the world to try this new combination of medicine and Disney-themed technology. Andrew Ruiz, director of imaging at Rady Children’s Health in Orange County, said the impact was immediate.<\/p>\n

“The second he walked into the room and was able to see his favorite character, Spider-Man, his eyes lit up,” Ruiz said.<\/p>\n

Mosley’s medical journey has been difficult. He was diagnosed at 3 years old with an aggressive soft-tissue cancer and has undergone extensive treatment.<\/p>\n

“Chemo radiation, lots of scans,” said Amanda Eberwein, Mosley’s mother.<\/p>\n

The initiative is a collaboration between Disney and healthcare technology company Philips<\/a>. It incorporates popular characters into the MRI environment, turning what is typically a dark, noisy procedure into a more welcoming and immersive space.<\/p>\n

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive test that produces detailed images of organs and tissues. However, the machines can be loud, and the scans require patients to remain completely still, which is especially challenging for young children.<\/p>\n

“Their natural impulse is to move and cry,” said Dr. Azam Eghbal<\/a>, a pediatric radiologist. “Even a little shifting can blur the images and make images non-diagnostic.”<\/p>\n

The Disney-themed experience goes beyond simply showing a movie. Clinicians worked with Disney Imagineers to create guided storytelling that encourages children to stay focused and calm.<\/p>\n

Patients choose their preferred characters and colors before entering the MRI room, creating a customized environment once the scan begins.<\/p>\n

\"Jordan<\/p>\n

Jordan Mosley, 8, interacts with the Disney images focused on storytelling to help with MRI scans.<\/p>\n

Kids can pick the character they want to interact with. Mickey, Grogu or Spider-Man are a few of the options. They can even pick the color they want. And when they go in, it’s all set.<\/p>\n

For Mosley, the approach made a significant difference. This was the first time he completed an MRI without sedation.<\/p>\n

“This was actually the first MRI he’s ever tried without anesthesia,” Ruiz said.<\/p>\n

Hospital officials say the technology is also improving efficiency. By helping children stay still, scans can be completed with fewer retakes.<\/p>\n

“It’s reducing the interruptions and the pauses in the scan by 63%, which is really great news for hospitals that are overwhelmed,” said Dr. Atul Gupta, Chief Medical Officer at Philips.<\/p>\n

Rady Children’s Health in Orange County is the first to launch the Disney-themed MRI experience. Philips and Disney have plans to expand the technology to 87 countries.<\/p>\n

“This is just a continuation of Disney’s contribution to children’s hospitals across the world,” said Lisa Haines, senior vice president of corporate social responsibility for the Walt Disney Company.<\/p>\n

To celebrate the launch, Mickey Mouse made a special appearance to recognize Mosley’s cancer fight and his role in helping demonstrate that MRIs don’t have to be frightening.<\/p>\n

Eberwein said the interactive elements help put children at ease.<\/p>\n

“And the characters move, it’s just very interactive,” Eberwein said.<\/p>\n

Hospital leaders say the goal is to make necessary medical imaging less stressful for children while improving outcomes, turning a traditionally daunting procedure into a more manageable experience.<\/p>\n

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of this ABC station.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORANGE, Calif. (KABC) — A Southern California hospital is introducing new MRI technology designed to make scans less…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":677180,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[295291,97,252,253],"class_list":["post-677179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-295291","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}