Hospitalized for leukemia, Alexis was able to “be at home” thanks to the intelligent little robot Buddy
For several days, Alexis was able to play with Carla, when she came home from school at the end of the day. However, several kilometers separated him from his sister. Suffering from leukemia, the 11-year-old boy is in solitary confinement in the pediatric hemato-oncology service of the Toulouse University Hospital, to which his younger sister did not have access. But thanks to
Buddy, a smart little robot present at the family home, they were able to keep the link and continue to play.
From her hospital room, thanks to a tablet, Alexis could call her sister every evening who saw her brother’s face appear instead of Buddy’s eyes, a little gem of technology no higher than a cat standing on its paws and who can sneak around. “It’s like I’m at home, I just go to my room and see things that have changed,” explains the boy who was able to observe from a distance the work done in his absence by his parents.
Make the child autonomous
Better than video calls on a cell phone, the electronic companion gives the child the possibility of being independent, of going to see his animals or even to participate in family meals if he wants to. “For the two little ones it was a great moment of sharing. During Alexis’ first isolation, they both suffered, they called each other on video but it didn’t work so well. There, my daughter was hiding and manipulating Buddy to find her, they had a lot of fun, ”says Sandrine, Alexis’ mother, fully behind this technological project launched and funded by “The Hope of Princess Manon”.
After the loss of their daughter, Thierry Gauthier and his wife Anne decided to create this association and to get involved in helping children with leukemia to better cope with their isolation. Initially, this aeronautical employee had the idea of creating from A to Z with his colleagues from the Airbus Humanity Lab a prototype robot that can interact with the family unit. Before stumbling upon Buddy, made by the French company Blue Frog Robotics, which with its cute design and large expressive eyes met the needs of a pediatric ward.
“The advantage is also that we can work on software, integrate it into the robot to develop it specifically for the hospital. We therefore tested it initially, and since then, four children have benefited from it, ”explains the co-founder of the association, which intends to buy a second copy of this robot made in France shortly. Then others, who could for example take advantage of the little Toulouse residents, forced like Alexis to leave for a month in Bordeaux, in a sterile room after having had a bone marrow transplant.
“The advantage of Buddy is that the child is independent, he controls the robot from the tablet, he has the choice to put his face on or have an avatar if he is not in good spirits. He cannot connect on his own either, this allows parents to keep some privacy… Quite simply because sometimes mum and dad cry and they don’t want to do it in front of their child, or when they do. talk to each other, ”assures Thierry Gauthier, for whom the robot helps both young patients and their loved ones.
Benefits soon to be studied
Given his size and weight, Buddy can be taken to family meals, Christmas parties and maybe one day he will allow the child to go to class virtually with his friends, or to participate in school trips to the Museum. Especially since there is an interaction, when we stroke the robot, real hearts appear on the tablet of the little patient. And when the latter gets blues, he can use a sad-eyed avatar to get the message across to those close to him.
“For us, the idea is really to improve child care and supportive care. We know that the psychological side and the experience of the treatment have an important part in the result. That the child lives better the stage of isolation is part of it. For the moment, on the four families who have tested Buddy, we have very positive feedback, the children are very happy, ”explains Doctor Cécile Boulanger, from the hematology-oncology department of the Toulouse University Hospital. With the association and the nursing team, she has set some rules for the use of the little companion, from the duration of use to the terms of appeal.
To assess the socio-psychological benefits of this new tool, a study will be launched. But already, she sees a usefulness, especially after this long period of Covid-19 where visits were still limited. “If the parents want to take him to the sibling’s year-end show, they can. Budy can talk, take pictures, zoom in if the child wants to see up close, like little Gabin who has an aquarium and can thus follow his fish. The child must be able to be an actor and decide, and that makes them an objective during the day, ”assures the practitioner.
While a previous experiment had been produced in Lyon with a tabletop system on wheels, with Buddy the doctor appreciating the playful aspect of the robot, its size too and its transportable aspect. And she hopes that patrons will succeed in funding others to allow other children to be able to have the chance to have a friend in their home to help them keep in touch.