Lego Group, in collaboration with Chinese charity partner Ai You Foundation, has donated 1,626 Lego MRI scanner sets to 108 hospitals in 67 cities and counties across China as of May, the company revealed in Beijing on Thursday. The initiative, which was announced in Shanghai during the sixth China International Import Expo in November 2023, has been ongoing for the past seven months.

A showcase of the Lego MRI scanner set at a press event held at Beijing Children's Hospital in Beijing, May 30, 2024. [Photo courtesy of Lego Group]

The Lego MRI Scanner project, initiated in 2015 by Lego employee Erik Ullerlund Staehr and Odense University Hospital in Denmark, aims to make MRI scans less scary for children. The sets facilitate better interaction between children and clinicians, allowing kids to better understand the MRI machine through play. Designed specifically for child-centered MRI treatments, the sets encourage role-play and dialogue, enhancing confidence and reducing anxiety before the actual scan.

At a press event held at Beijing Children's Hospital under Capital Medical University on Thursday, Yolanda Gu, the director of Social Responsibility at Lego China, stated, "Lego Group believes in the power of play and is committed to inspiring and nurturing future builders. I am delighted to see the tangible results achieved by the Lego MRI scanner project in the physical pilot, and appreciate the recognition and positive feedback from children, parents, and partner hospitals."

Gu added, "In the future, we will further expand the scope of the pilot to provide more children in need with opportunities to learn and develop through play."

In addition to donating sets to staff and social workers in hospitals for the project, Lego and Ai You Foundation have also provided related training for medical staff of the recipient hospitals and supplied manuals to help them use the models accurately to guide children through play, thus enhancing the efficiency of pediatric MRI examinations.

Luan Yibin, executive secretary-general of the Ai You Foundation, said that with the strong support of Ai You's partner hospitals, the Lego project had been quickly implemented in the daily work of medical personnel and medical social workers.

"The high compatibility of the Lego models with actual examinations has made pediatric MRI checks both innovative and fun," Luan said. "These models provide a vivid tool for child-friendly medical services. We look forward to the project reaching more hospitals and enhancing the efficiency and quality of medical care for more children."

At Beijing Children's Hospital on Thursday, just before International Children's Day, celebrated in China on June 1, hospitalized children were seen happily playing with specially designed Lego kits alongside nurses, seemingly forgetting their pain for a short while.

Zhang Guojun, secretary of the Party Committee at Beijing Children's Hospital, one of the first hospitals to receive donations, said that in the daily diagnostic and treatment process, many patients experience anxiety and tension due to a lack of medical knowledge and fear of the unknown. This is especially prominent in children undergoing MRI scans. "Our hospital is honored to have been involved in the early stages of the Lego project, which not only helps children better cooperate during examinations but also provides a new way for medical staff to communicate with children more easily," Zhang said.

According to the Lego Group Sustainability Progress Report released in March, the company carries out social responsibility projects and local community participation activities globally, both online and offline, impacting over 9.86 million children. In China, the Danish toymaker actively partnered with local collaborators to launch several projects, including "Play Box," "Build the Change," and "Lego Braille Bricks." These initiatives have provided approximately 2.65 million Chinese children opportunities to learn and develop through play.

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