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An Israeli children’s hospital has developed an artificial intelligence tool that enables patients who cannot speak to communicate their pain, emotions and needs.
The system generates personalised, printable communication boards in less than five minutes, allowing children to express themselves and participate more actively in their care.
It was developed at Schneider Children’s Medical Centre in Petah Tikva with Code for Israel, a volunteer technology initiative.
The technology addresses a challenge faced by children in intensive care, including those receiving invasive ventilation that prevents speech, as well as patients with existing communication difficulties or who are too weak to write.
Previously, preparing tailored communication boards manually could take more than 30 minutes or even several hours, limiting the number of children who could receive individualised support.
The new AI-powered system allows speech and language therapists to create boards suited to each child’s age, language, gender and background. Existing boards can also be updated, shared among professionals and stored for re-use.
Dr Oshrat Sella Weiss, head of the hospital’s speech-language pathology service, said the inability to speak could prevent children from expressing pain, fear or a desire to see their parents.
“The story is restoring children’s ability to communicate, express themselves and participate actively in their care,” she said.
Idan Roll, chief executive of Code for Israel and a former deputy foreign minister, said the project demonstrated how technology could reduce pressure on public services and give medical teams more time to focus on patients.
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