Joe is a connected robot that is being studied throughout France to help children with asthma take their long-term treatment correctly. A solution to make them more independent and limit their crises.
Written on
The Mag of Health – France 5
Twice a day, Théa, six years old, has an appointment with Joe, her new and somewhat unusual friend. For the past two months, this robot has been helping him, step by step, to take his treatments for his chronic asthma.
“Before, I did it much too quickly and sometimes I forgot things. Now, I don’t forget them anymore and with him, I do it much more slowly”explains Thea.
“It’s a bit like a human”
When Thea has accomplished her mission, the robot even gives her a surprise with a story. This is an additional motivation for the little girl, who has completely adopted the robot.
“He’s funny Joe too, he gives us rewards, he sleeps, he burps, he sneezes… It’s a bit like a human and he blinks”rejoices Thea.
Théa’s robot is connected to an application, it also facilitates the task of Aline, her mother, in the management of the disease.“It is enough that in the morning we are a little in a hurry, if I have not seen her do it, I can check on the application and on the notifications that she has gone well at the end of the process and that she has taken well his treatments”she says.
A more fun treatment
Aline saves time thanks to these notifications and scheduling of reminders. She can help her daughter to take her heavy but essential treatments to prevent severe asthma attacks.
“The treatment, even if she has been taking it since she was very young, is still a constraint. Every time we interrupt her in something, even in the morning sometimes before leaving for school… Having Joe it makes taking treatment more fun, in addition it helps him to be much more autonomous”comments Aline.
Better sleep, fewer hospitalizations…
The Joe robot is still in the evaluation phase after having been tested with a hundred children, as part of a clinical study. For Théa’s pediatrician, it could allow children to better take their treatments, and therefore improve their quality of life.
“They may have daily symptoms that bother them. For them it’s especially if they cough at night, that they wake up, it has an impact on sleep and also suddenly on school performance. The most annoying , these are asthma attacks, which can cause them to be hospitalized”comments Dr. Mickael Shum, pediatrician at the CHI de Créteil.
In a few months, Théa will be able to find out if her robot has really proven its effectiveness. But already, she doesn’t want to leave him anymore.
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