MRI procedures are among the biggest sources of anxiety for many patients, due to the enclosed space in which intense sounds can create a high level of discomfort, affecting the patient’s condition, as well as the quality of the procedure and the result.
A study by Nara T Cell, for the Regina Maria Private Health Network, found that anxiety can be reduced if you know what to expect before your MRI appointment. Those who can associate the seemingly chaotic sounds of MRI with music are less prone to panic attacks. When the brain can attribute a sense and a melodic line to disparate sounds, they seem less threatening.
This led Publicis, Digitas and Public Relations to create Music To My Brain, created by Romanian songwriter, Marius Moga. Its melody reorchestrates the sounds of the MRI machine and turns them into music that patients can play in advance, to get accustomed to what they’re going to hear in the machine.
For many patients, MRI investigations are among the biggest sources of anxiety. The enclosed space and intense sounds can create a high level of discomfort, affecting the patient’s condition, as well as the quality of the procedure and of the result.
“We had to create an earworm, so that when the patients find themselves in the machine, that tune stuck obsessively in their head comes back to accompany each and every MRI sound that the machine could throw at them. Basically, we gave people the melody and their brain would do the rest, by adding the MRI sequences to it, in real time, in a way that makes sense and feels less threatening, maybe even enjoyable,” stated Ana-Maria Țarălungă, creative director, Digitas.
“The secret lies in the melodic line. Any good, hummable melody line has the power to make people to feel good. We all know that our cortisol levels decrease when we hum something. Through this song, we aim to enhance the experience of going to the MRI, by giving people something to listen to prior to the procedure. With this melody, we reshape the MRI sounds into something harmonious, which would change the mood you have during the examination, if you managed to get familiarszed with them beforehand,” Marius Moga, songwriter and singer
Alexandru Berceanu, researcher and associate professor, Nara T Cell, explained how Music To My Brain works. “By listening to the melody, the brain befriends the eerie sounds of the electromagnetic coil, diverting attention from non-existent danger towards processing the music, which is positive and lowers anxiety levels. Through repeated listening to the song before the MRI, subjects train their brains to trigger the musical imagination, turning the MRI into a musical instrument, where the sound sequences in the MRI are rearranged into a melody. Thus, during the procedure, the patient will no longer perceive isolated, unpredictable, and threatening noises, but will turn the MRI sounds into music.”
The specially designed song was seeded along the patient’s journey, from the doctor’s appointment to the actual MRI, from Regina Maria Private Health Network’s Call Centre to Spotify, Apple music, YouTube, Deezer, Amazon music, to the MRI home kit and imaging waiting rooms in all the network’s clinics and hospitals.
Credits:
Publicis, Digitas and Publicis Relations Teams:
Creative Director: Ana-Maria Țarălungă
Executive Creative Director: Silviu Nedelschi
Chief Strategy Officer: Raluca Kovacs
Jr Strategic Planner: Bianca Moga-Lăpuște
Sr Art Director: Cătălin Grigore
Sr Copywriter: Mihaela Neațu
Digital Art Director: Marius Fărcășanu
Video editor: Roland Împușcatu
Sr Client Lead: Adina Albu
Communications Manager: Teodora Cîrstea
Communications Specialist: Mirela Stoian
AV Production Manager: Alexandru Călin
AV Production Director: Camelia Efrimov
Digital Client Lead: Veronica Ciacoveanu
Client Lead: Andreea Nedeianu
Client Manager: Antonia Gherasim
Digital Client Manager: Miruna Grecu
PR Officer: Andreea Grigorean
Production House: Abis Studio
Post-production: Mad.animator
