Innovative center for teens coping with cancer at Stanford hospital
Two teenagers battling cancer at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital Stanford have have been spending time here in the hospital's new innovation lab at the hospital.
They have come up with some unique inventions.
18-year-old Aaron Ge from San Jose and 16-year-old Ryan Sathianathen from Fremont are each being treated for leukemia.
They showed us some of their innovations aimed at making hospital life a little more convenient.
For instance, a privacy doorbell for outside a hospital room that a young patient is using. It lets him know if a doctor, nurse or relative is at the door.
The patient can then respond whether it's okay want to come in.
The teens also designed a pain meter made with three circuits..It's especially useful if a patient can't speak.
"I have a device next to me that says what's the pain level right now," said Ryan.
The two teens say being able to work on these projects has been great medicine while they recover.
"It makes me feel like i can find a way to fix things that bother me instead of sitting there being annoyed," said Aaron.
Stanford opened this innovation space about six months ago as a way to give young-adult patients a reason to leave their room.
It has a computer, 3D printer and other gadgets any patient can use. Stanford is the first hospital in the country to offer such a space.
"It's really about what do you want to explore. What do you want to think about. It also connects them to people their age," said Pam Simon, a nurse practitioner in the oncology unit.
The Innovative Space is still a work in progress. Patients are still finding new ways to use it and perhaps come up with some new inventions.
"It's definitely been a help with coping with leukemia," said Aaron.