Staying Stress-Free: The Benefits of Robotic Therapy Dogs in Pediatric Healthcare

A recent peer-reviewed study has shown that spending time with therapy dogs can help children lower their stress levels even more than relaxation exercises. This is especially crucial for children in the hospital. However, when there aren’t enough therapy dogs available, alternative solutions are necessary.

Seven-year-old Josh Summitt, who misses his dogs while in the hospital, was introduced to robotic dogs – Max, Otis, and Stride – by Stanford Children’s Health. These robotic dogs are designed to help reduce anxiety in young patients and are a collaboration between Stanford’s engineering students and the hospital’s Chariot Program, which focuses on enhancing patient care through innovation.

Gabriel Levine, an engineering student at Stanford University, emphasized the immediate impact of the robotic dogs in cheering up the children. While therapy animals have been known to alleviate pain, anxiety, and depression, doctors are optimistic that the robotic dogs are offering similar benefits to the patients.

Dr. Ellen Wang, co-director of the Chariot Program, noted that the robotic dogs have helped engage patients in ways that were not possible before. Anesthesiologist Dr. Teresa Nguyen shared a powerful anecdote about a patient who almost forgot about going into surgery because he enjoyed spending time with the robot.

Josh’s mother, Amelia Summitt, has observed how the robotic dogs have sparked her son’s curiosity and allowed him to be a typical seven-year-old despite being in the hospital. Stanford Children’s Health is concluding its pilot phase with the robotic dogs and is looking to further develop them based on their positive reception. Stanford students are currently working on a new version of the robot dog that promises to be even more interactive and agile.

In conclusion, spending time with therapy animals has been shown to lower stress levels even more than relaxation exercises for children in hospitals or other settings where they may need extra comfort or companionship during difficult times.

The use of alternative solutions like robotic animals has become increasingly popular as technology advances and healthcare providers look for innovative ways to improve patient care.

One example of this is Max, Otis and Stride from Stanford Children’s Health – three robotic animals designed specifically for reducing anxiety among young patients.

These three cute little bots have already made a huge difference for Josh Summitt who misses his real dogs while he’s in the hospital.

Gabriel Levine from Stanford University emphasized how immediately impactful these bots were in cheering up young patients.