Latest news with #HollandBloorview
CBC
24-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
'Very emotional': Brain-scanning tech gives kids with disabilities new powers
It sounds like something from a futuristic film: Technology that allows users to control their environment with mere thoughts. But for kids with disabilities in Ontario, it's an emerging reality that's helping them connect with the world around them in unprecedented ways. For 10-year-old Irelynn, who's non-verbal and has limited mobility, it means she can make a toy play music just by thinking about clapping. "Probably the best thing I've ever seen," says her dad, Jeff. Out of respect for the family's safety concerns, CBC is withholding Irelynn and her father's last name from this story. The technology, known as brain computer interface (BCI), relies on a black headset equipped with several circular sensors that listen to electrical signals inside Irelynn's head. "She has taught software to recognize a particular command thought," says Susannah Van Damme, an occupational therapist and the team lead of the clinical BCI program at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto. "So for Irelynn, she loves applause, she loves clapping, so that was the first command thought that we worked with." Van Damme led the recent session with Irelynn at the John McGivney Children's Centre in Windsor, Ont. The centre, which provides services and care to local kids with disabilities, is among the first in the province to train with the tool. A $30 million donation from the Slaight Family Foundation late last year is helping spread the technology beyond Holland Bloorview, which pioneered it. Jodi Fischer, manager for occupational therapy and physiotherapy at McGivney, says the training is in the early stages, but that it's been "very exciting" so far. "They see a way that they get to control their environment […] in a way that they've never been able to do in lots of instances," she says. "It's giving them a tool that they didn't know was possible." She said one boy she's worked with for years used the technology to make a machine throw a ball — something that could be integrated into a group program, or even allow him to play with his family in the future. "It is very emotional, and we've seen that time and time again in different demos," she said. The technology, built on decades of research at Holland Bloorview, is far from perfect. It takes a while for staff in the McGivney gymnasium to secure the headset and its multiple sensors in just the right spots on Irelynn. But Irelynn, wearing pigtails and a red summer dress, sits calmly in her wheelchair. She's done this before. "In order for us to get those signals, we need to make sure every electrode is making good contact with her skull," Van Damme said. "So we have to move hair around. We have little felts that are soaked in saline solution so that salt helps with conductivity," she said. "And once we know that the headset is well connected, then we're able to move forward and train the system to recognize when she wants to activate a toy." The current headsets were designed for adults, Van Damme says, so she hopes they can keep improving the technology. But for Jeff, Irelynn's father, the device has already opened up their worlds. She was diagnosed with STXBP1 disorder, a rare genetic condition, when she was a toddler, he says. "It just shows that children are capable of so much more than what we really know," he said. Both Jeff and Fischer, the therapy manager at McGivney, said the tool gives them hope for what technology could do for people with disabilities in the future. "Who knows where it will go?" she said.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Holland Bloorview accelerates innovation in paediatric health with KidSights
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital has become a member of KidSights, a data consortium established to solve and bridge the innovation gap in paediatric healthcare to improve the health and well-being of children and youth with complex requirements. Paediatric healthcare has fallen behind the adult healthcare sector, particularly in paediatric disability care, partly due to the lack of large-scale datasets that drive advancements in care. KidSights aims to rectify this by creating de-identified, aggregated datasets using secure, privacy-enhanced technology. These datasets can be accessed by innovators such as global medical device and pharmaceutical companies, as well as researchers to accelerate research and the development of new products, treatments, drugs and devices. Holland Bloorview president and CEO Julia Hanigsberg said: 'For far too long, paediatric disability health data have not been effectively aggregated and made widely accessible, which has led to a major innovation gap. 'The KidSights data consortium is a critical step in the right direction. By participating, Holland Bloorview expects to close that gap and speed up the development of personalised therapies and interventions to improve outcomes for children and youth with disabilities, developmental differences, and rare genetic conditions within and beyond our walls.' Holland Bloorview is the first Canadian hospital to join the consortium, which was founded in 2023 by Gillette Children's, a medical care provider for children with disabilities and complex health conditions. Gillette Children's president and CEO Barbara Joers said: 'In our long history of providing speciality care for children with complex conditions and rare diseases, we've consistently led and innovated clinical advancements that directly benefit the community we serve. 'The launch of KidSights marks a transformative step forward in paediatric health. Gillette Children's looks forward to utilising the data derived from KidSights to tackle enduring challenges and drive clinical advancements for the children who need them most.' "Holland Bloorview accelerates innovation in paediatric health with KidSights" was originally created and published by Hospital Management, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
