Xploro is a digital health platform designed to support children and families navigating healthcare experiences such as hospital visits or procedures. It does this by using games, augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI) and interactive storytelling to help young patients understand medical procedures, hospital environments and treatments in a way that’s age-appropriate, engaging and makes the overall experience less scary. It hopes to reduce anxiety among children, improve health literacy and make healthcare experiences better for both patients and their families.
The idea for Xploro was created in 2011 when founder Dom Raban’s daughter was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer. When she was ill, he found nobody told her what to expect and that made her feel scared, anxious and alone. This caused her to feel resistant to medical treatments as their purpose wasn’t explained to her and she feared new hospital environments because she didn’t know what to expect. This fear now has a long lasting effect on her going into her adult years.
Xploro aims to familiarise patients and their families with every aspect of their healthcare journey using features such as immersive storybook experiences, interactive environments and games, customisable characters and a handy calendar and mood diary.
Using games, quizzes and interactive activities children can learn about health and treatments fun and less stressful. This also means they are more prepared as they can recognise different equipment or procedures and understand what they do.
They also provide children with the ability to create their own character which will enter the immersive environment as a 3D AR model. This allows them to explore the hospital layout and their procedures in a fun way so they know what to expect. Within this they can speak to chatbots and ask questions, customise their own avatar and meet staff they may encounter in the hospital such as nurses or surgeons.
They also provide interactive games or stories helping children prepare for surgery, being sedated, radiology, needles and injections of more serious things such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Finally Xploro allows children to note their thoughts, feelings and experiences during procedures or appointments within a mood diary as a way of not only looking back and seeing how far they have come but also logging how they felt throughout.
Their main user group is children and young people aged around 7–15, especially children who are going to undergo hospital treatment, facing medical procedures or managing ongoing conditions. The platform is designed to help them understand what to expect during their healthcare journey, reduce anxiety and improve health literacy in an age-appropriate, engaging way.
Parents and carers use Xploro alongside their children. They benefit from the shared information, better communication tools and support in helping their child understand and cope with treatment.
Healthcare Organisations are the main customers of Xploro. It is sold to and used by many healthcare institutions worlwide such as Boston Children’s Hospital, NHS trusts and Hospital San Joan de Déu in Spain. These organisations use Xploro to support patient education, improve care experiences, reduce procedural anxiety and enhance clinical outcomes.
Their healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses or child life specialists can also use the app but not the same way a child would. They can use a clinician/management portal to assign content, monitor engagement and integrate the platform for that child