Toys with Medical Devices: An Idea from Mayo Clinic Doctors to Alleviate Treatment Anxiety

A small teddy bear could become a tool to help children accept a medical device they use daily. This is the goal of the “Teddy Bear Clinic” project, developed by resident physicians at the Mayo Clinic and presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2026 National Conference in San Diego.

The concept involves equipping teddy bears with devices that mimic those used by children, including gastrostomy tubes for feeding, tracheostomy tubes, and models of cardiac pacemakers. The aim is to make these medical devices more familiar, encouraging children to understand and talk about them. Families can also use the bears to explain care routines or help the child’s peers grasp his or her health needs through play.

The project has received donations of medical equipment, while medical students and resident physicians have benefited from assembling the bears as part of training in medical suturing skills. The initiative is linked to a physician’s personal experience, who described feeling isolated in childhood due to his use of a medical device.

Although the team hopes to reduce anxiety and feelings of difference, the initiative is presented as a play-based intervention project. To date, no published clinical trial results have definitively demonstrated its psychological impact.