What can a special duck do for a kid with cancer?

5IJT XBT UIF RVFTUJPO GBDJOH "BSPO Horowitz and Hannah Chung, cofounders of the design company 4QSPVUFM B TUBSUVQ MBVODIFE JO when they started collaborating with "nBD UP DSFBUF My Special Aflac DuckTlM

The company wanted to give kids facing cancer treatment a DPNGPSUJOH DPNQBOJPO BOE "nBD T JDPOJD RVBDLJOH TZNCPM XBT B OBUVSBM mU

5IF EFTJHOFST JNNFSTFE UIFNTFMWFT JO UIF "nBD $BODFS BOE Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. They looked on as patients as young as 3 years old coped with chemotherapy and the sheer exhaustion of living in a hospital environment. “Emotionally, it’s the hardest design work I’ve FWFS EPOF w TBZT $IVOH 4QSPVUFM T DIJFG DSFBUJWF PGmDFS From early on, the designers’ goal was to help provide comfort and joy to kids facing cancer—and they did it by learning from children and dreaming up innovative technology solutions. Today, My Special Aflac DuckTl as the cuddly companion is aptly named, has four patents pending. There’s a removable, washable skin, devised after discussions with the hospital’s infection control staff. Beneath that skin hides a fully animatronic robot, which engages with a Bluetooth-enabled app. All that tech made one pretty special duck.

My Special Aflac DuckTl dances, nuzzles and even has a heartbeat. Kids can feed and bathe the duck, go on adventures through an interactive app designed for mobile devices and tablets, and engage in medical play such as administering “medicine” through a chemotherapy port, not unlike their own. Emotion cards help the duck (and the child) express how they feel—from sad to sick to silly. Every action is designed to help bring comfort and joy to kids in treatment. 5IJT GBMM "nBD XJMM CFHJO EFMJWFSJOH PG UIFTF TQFDJBM ducks to children newly diagnosed with cancer at no cost to their families. i5IF UIPVHIU PG PG UIFTF EVDLT PO UIFJS XBZ UP LJET JT incredibly exciting,” Horowitz says.