Bond

In this column, we give a stage to start-ups and scale-ups developing groundbreaking products or services. This time: Mirjam de Korte of Bond, winner of the V.O. Kickstart award duringTU Delft Impact Contest 2023.

Bond is an adventure for children in the Emergency Department (ED) of a hospital. During this adventure, they encounter different animals. The doctors and nurses wear a badge with their animal character and matching stickers. With each new encounter, the child receives the sticker from the doctor or nurse on a specially designed wristband. The child's thoughts are distracted from the pain and focused on the search for new animals. In this way, Bond contributes to a positive hospital experience for children.

During my Design for Interaction studies at TU Delft, I did research on the experience of children in the ED of Erasmus MC. I found out that children are often anxious and overwhelmed during their visit. In addition, caregivers like to solve complex situations. But they are usually not trained as pediatric nurses. Based on these insights, I developed Bond. Bond connects caregivers and children in the ED. Children are reassured by the adventure and for caregivers it is a tool for dealing with children.

In 2023, I won the V.O. Kickstart Award in the finals of the TU Delft Impact Contest 2023.The €1,000 prize was presented to me by V.O. and gives me the opportunity to further develop Bond. It is also extra motivating that others see potential in my idea. After winning the award, I have already presented Bond at the St. Antonius Hospital in Nieuwegein. A new ED is being set up there and they want to investigate whether they can implement Bond there.The hospital in Eindhoven is also enthusiastic.During the summer I hope to run a pilot at one of these locations. It would be really cool if Bond could soon be used to further improve the hospital experience of children in the ED.