Minecraft is one of the world’s most popular games. (Image: Getty)
A 10-year-old girl cancer patient is finding her treatment a lot less scary – after a unique ‘first’, her hospital’s proton beam therapy machine appears in the global game Minecraft. It is the first time a working NHS health facility has been reconstructed within the popular 3D, block-based « sandbox » video game that allows players to create their own world.
The new Minecraft world is the result of a partnership between The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester and Microsoft, the makers of Minecraft Education. Designed with input from The Christie’s clinicians, the Minecraft world helps sick children and young people become familiar with key areas of the proton beam centre before real-life treatment begins.
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Rama with her mum Raquel (Image: The Christie)
Ramatulaye, 10 – or Rama for short – lives in Bradford, West Yorkshire, but has been having proton beam therapy – a form of advanced radiotherapy – at The Christie for Hodgkin lymphoma blood cancer.
Rama was the first patient to explore the proton beam therapy centre in Minecraft and said: « It looks just the same as the hospital, it’s so cool. I got to explore the playroom and the gantry where I have treatment every day.
« The hospital feels very big when you get here, so being able to explore it in Minecraft helps you to understand where everything is, which is great. I think other children would love it just as much as me. »
It is hoped the idea – believed to be a first for a working NHS hospital in the UK – will give young patients more of a sense of control and help them better prepare for their treatment.
Rama is halfway through her treatment, which she said was « actually not that bad, because if I tell you the truth, whenever I’m in the radiotherapy, I go to sleep so I don’t feel anything. »
When asked whether she thought a virtual hospital in a video game was a good idea, Rama replied: « Yes – because I don’t want any kids to be scared about coming to a hospital where they need to do their radiotherapy.
« Before looking at the actual machine, you can see it on Minecraft and know how it looks… and you know what you have to do.
« So I do think this game is really going to help little kids with going around the hospital. »
The aim is to reduce anxiety, encourage questions and create a sense of curiosity about the proton centre and treatment for young people at an unfamiliar time.
Staff at Manchester cancer centre hope the new play environment will help to reduce the anxiety that young patients feel when they come for their first proton beam therapy treatment.
The Christie treats approximately 120 paediatric patients each year with a specialist type of radiotherapy called proton beam therapy. Proton beam therapy is a type of radiotherapy.
Protons are small particles found in the middle of atoms. They can be used to give carefully calculated doses of radiation to treat diseases. Protons release their energy at an exact point in the body.
This means the dose to the tumour can be given very accurately and there is little or no dose to normal tissue past the tumour.
Proton beam therapy maximises the therapeutic dose to the patient’s tumour while minimising damage to healthy tissues.
Carefully crafted areas can be explored in Minecraft, including reception, the atrium, waiting areas, imaging rooms, the play preparation room and the centre’s school/education space.
Rama with senior health play specialist, Charlotte Cooper. (Image: The Christie)
Senior health play specialist Charlotte Cooper said the Minecraft world was The Christie’s latest tool designed to help young patients.
She explained: « We see children come who can be really, really terrified at the start, really shut down, just really overwhelmed. But it’s just such a delight to work with them.
« To give them some tools and strategies and coping skills, and to send them away feeling really confident about having their scans or having more treatment, feeling really more confident in their own ability to cope with things.
« Children learn and find their own way to cope through play, » Charlotte added. « Minecraft is a world that they’re really familiar with and comfortable with. To marry that up with a clinical experience here is absolutely perfect. »
The Minecraft world will also allow young people to follow corridors to interactive MRI and CT scanners and to peek into consulting spaces, treatment gantries, and ward recovery bays.
Interactive touches, including a working MRI, working taps, computer screens, a playable keyboard piano, and discoverable ‘secret rooms,’ offer moments of lightness alongside clinically accurate features.
The Minecraft version has been scaled up to around five times the size of the real centre to make navigation easier and provide clear sightlines.
The Minecraft Education team used photographs and details gathered during site tours, along with additional reference material supplied by The Christie, to ensure accuracy.
All patient‑facing spaces are represented to reflect what families actually see and do during treatment. The health play specialist team will support and guide the sessions and the conversation for each child.
To protect the experience during guided sessions, the core environment will be made ‘immutable’ (not destructible), with optional zones where children can build safely if encouraged by staff.
The Minecraft proton beam therapy centre has been developed primarily by Microsoft’s Paul Flaherty and Joanne Healy in a voluntary capacity, with contributions from Microsoft early careers staff, apprentices, and volunteers.
Joanne Healy, Microsoft developer, said: « Working with The Christie’s team helped us focus on the moments that matter most to young patients, from arriving, to meeting staff and seeing the equipment.
« Our goal was to make a faithful, calm space with a few playful touches so children can explore at their own pace, ask questions, and feel more confident.
« This project also aligns with Microsoft’s ‘Beyond the Badge’ campaign this year, which encourages us to use our skills through volunteering and inclusion initiatives that support community wellbeing. »
There are only two NHS trusts in the UK that offer high-energy proton beam treatment: The Christie and University College London Hospital.
Proton beam therapy centre manager at The Christie, Tom Edwards, added: « Having seen through my own children how fascinated they are by Minecraft, I knew that this would be a fantastic way for our young patients to explore the proton beam centre and overcome their fears.
« That’s why I was so excited to work with the Minecraft developers to help them build a version of our proton beam therapy centre in Minecraft.
« We are really grateful to Microsoft and all their volunteer coders who have created this amazing way for our patients to gain confidence before their treatment. »
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