Ketchup If You Can

Designing a toy for rehabilitating children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

As part of a university project, I worked in a team of 5 to develop, Ketchup If You Can, a toy designed to rehabilitate children aged 5-12 with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. The toy is inspired by an existing toy called Bop It!. The ketchup-themed toy instructs the player to perform a certain move, and if the player completes the move correctly within a time limit, they receive rewarding audio and haptic feedback. The game becomes more challenging as the player levels up, with the time limit decreasing.

The moves (squeeze, twist, shake, and flip) chosen for the game are based on common movements in bimanual activities. The bottle is designed to encourage the use of two hands, which is important for children with cerebral palsy who may be reluctant to use their weaker hand.

We presented our toy to experts, who suggested further work and testing due to its potential.