EDE, Netherlands: Cheeky Ruben is just seven and learning to read. But thanks to his new knee-high buddy Charlie robot he can expertly measure his blood sugar and count carbohydrates in a glass of milk.
Such skills could be life-savers for the blonde Dutch boy diagnosed with childhood diabetes just over a year ago.
There are roughly some 6,000 children across The Netherlands with Type 1 childhood diabetes. And at least one a year dies from the disease.
Now thanks to a unique collaboration between health care professionals, robotics engineers and academics in the Netherlands, Italy, German and Britain, families struggling to learn about the illness and manage it on a daily basis have a new life coach on their side.
He’s a friendly red-and-white robot called Charlie, with arms and legs, big round eyes and speakers disguised as ears, who can talk and dance.
Some 40 Dutch children have so far been involved in the testing — the first phase of a four-year EU-funded project launched in March 2015.
Young patients can chat with Charlie during clinic visits — currently two hospitals in The Netherlands and one in Italy are participating. And the kids have access to Charlie’s avatar twin whenever they want on their tablets and computers at home. There’s a staggering amount to learn.
“A child and a parent with diabetes thinks about diabetes every 10 to 15 minutes a day,” said paediatrician Gert Jan van der Burg.
Children and parents must figure out injections, blood sugar levels, carbohydrate intake, knowing how much insulin to take.
“It’s a huge burden and that’s why a lot of children with diabetes also have a lot of social problems,” Van der Burg told AFP.
Parties awash with cake, or trips to kid-friendly fast food places, sports days, even an hour on a favorite video game can all send blood sugar levels soaring dangerously too high or too low.
“What must you do if you are feeling hypo?” Charlie asks Ruben in one play session, referring to hypoglycemia when blood sugars are too low.
Such skills could be life-savers for the blonde Dutch boy diagnosed with childhood diabetes just over a year ago.
There are roughly some 6,000 children across The Netherlands with Type 1 childhood diabetes. And at least one a year dies from the disease.
Now thanks to a unique collaboration between health care professionals, robotics engineers and academics in the Netherlands, Italy, German and Britain, families struggling to learn about the illness and manage it on a daily basis have a new life coach on their side.
He’s a friendly red-and-white robot called Charlie, with arms and legs, big round eyes and speakers disguised as ears, who can talk and dance.
Some 40 Dutch children have so far been involved in the testing — the first phase of a four-year EU-funded project launched in March 2015.
Young patients can chat with Charlie during clinic visits — currently two hospitals in The Netherlands and one in Italy are participating. And the kids have access to Charlie’s avatar twin whenever they want on their tablets and computers at home. There’s a staggering amount to learn.
“A child and a parent with diabetes thinks about diabetes every 10 to 15 minutes a day,” said paediatrician Gert Jan van der Burg.
Children and parents must figure out injections, blood sugar levels, carbohydrate intake, knowing how much insulin to take.
“It’s a huge burden and that’s why a lot of children with diabetes also have a lot of social problems,” Van der Burg told AFP.
Parties awash with cake, or trips to kid-friendly fast food places, sports days, even an hour on a favorite video game can all send blood sugar levels soaring dangerously too high or too low.
“What must you do if you are feeling hypo?” Charlie asks Ruben in one play session, referring to hypoglycemia when blood sugars are too low.
