Using Technology to Aid the Recovery of Children with Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in children have devastating consequences, hindering their development and requiring innovative rehabilitation solutions. In the US alone, an estimated 50,000–60,000 children are hospitalized annually due to TBI. LSCubes aimed to address this challenge by using technology to transform the rehabilitation experience.

Developed in collaboration with Sant Joan de Deu Pediatric Hospital and funded by the prestigious "La Marato de TV3" grant, LSCubes' "smart cubes" seamlessly integrated with a LEGO® Mindstorms-based robotic companion and iOS app to create a personalized and gamified therapy experience for children recovering from TBI.

The LSCubes module used custom infrared communication protocols, dedicated hardware, embedded firmware, network connectivity with LEGO® Mindstorms, and iOS interfaces to enable therapists to create targeted, engaging therapies. Following a user-centric design, the system prioritized seamless operation both at home and in clinical settings.

LSCubes was deployed, with 150+ kits produced for clinical use. The robotic project resulted in two influential publications at the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) and presented at a TEDxBarcelonaSalon talk in 2016. Subsequent versions of the project remains in use today for neurorehabilitation in Spain.