How scanners became storybooks

by Tania Anaissie August 12, 2015

written by Tania Anaissie August 12, 2015

Doug Dietz is a legend. He is the man that transformed the once miserable experience of receiving a MRI scan into a magical adventure. Doug is a design thinker. He is an alumnus of our Stanford Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school) Executive Education program. Doug was on the General Electric (GE) team that designed nuclear scanners (used to conduct MRIs). When they were first installed, he excitedly visited a hospital to observe them in use. What he saw was a small, 7-year old girl hiding behind her mother’s legs, terrified of the upcoming scan. The loud sounds, flashing lights, and deadly-looking stretcher brought her to tears. She was so upset, the family had to go home and reschedule the scan for another day. Hundreds of other children that year had to be sedated to undergo the MRI tests. As Doug describes it, “I went for kudos, but what I

Tania Anaissie

‎Tania is the Founder and CEO of Beytna Design, a social justice design firm she launched in 2016 in the San Francisco Bay Area. She co-developed Liberatory Design, a new approach that adapts design thinking for equity in sectors like education, government, and health. Tania leads curriculum development, training sessions, and long-term projects, collaborating with equity-centered design organizations to drive the Equity Design movement. With extensive experience in design research and education, she has worked on various impactful projects that promote justice and inclusion for marginalized communities across the U.S.

How scanners became storybooks

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