HeartBuddy
HeartBuddy is a first-of-its-kind AI companion that turns emotional stress into moments of comfort, connection and cooperation.
Powered by beloved Disney characters and a closed Emotion-AI engine, HeartBuddy guides children through everyday clinic visits and hospital stays with story-driven chat, voice play, and personalised emotional coaching.
Clinic and hospital-ready, parent-approved, and built to scale across an entire health-fund network – from the waiting room to the ward, all the way home.
Opportunity & Impact
Across pediatric hospitals and busy clinics, a critical gap is growing: while emotional stress in children is rising, staff and systems are stretched too thin to respond.
HeartBuddy closes this gap – blending beloved Disney characters with hospital-safe AI to calm kids, ease staff load, and extend support after each visit.
The Emotional Cost
- 1 in 5 hospitalised children show signs of severe distress – longer stays and higher drug use.
- In clinics, anxious kids add 6-9 extra minutes to a 15-minute slot and raise no-show risk.
The Operational Gap
- Hospitals: intuitive for staff and tailored to each child from day one, keeping teams on pace and beds turning faster.
- Clinics: 20 % same-day no-shows still wipe out revenue and access; SMS reminders help but don’t calm fear.
- Parents actively look for tools that calm their child and shorten the visit.
What Makes HeartBuddy Different
- One platform, two rhythms – bedside for days, chair-side in minutes.
- Disney characters + closed AI – instant trust, no unsafe chat.
- Voice-mood sensing everywhere – home prep, waiting room, clinic, hospital room.
- Runs on everyday tablets & phones – no special hardware required.
- Library of 30+ kid-friendly medical journeys – needles, drills, scans, cast saw and more.
- Flexible licensing – spanning clinics, hospitals, networks, and home use.
A single solution that works in both settings saves time, money, and family stress.
This is HeartBuddy
Designed for comfort. Powered by AI. Inspired by kids. See how we turn everyday screens into emotional allies — through breath, play, music, and stories that meet children exactly where they are.
Strategic Implementation
Phase 1: MVP
Objective: Build emotional trust and engagement during hospital stays and quick clinic visits using safe, character-driven micro-interactions.
Core Features:
- Dialogue Starters: Friendly, pre-written prompts to encourage light sharing without diagnosis.
- Story Time-In: Personalized, narrated stories with selectable themes.
- Buddy Beats: A music-sequencer mini-game promoting creative calm.
- Breathing Bubbles: Guided breathing visualizations for self-regulation.
- Mood Mirror: Emoji-based mood input, no free text.
- Positive Feedback: Streak-based smile badges and playful reinforcement.
- Parent View (Lite): Optional daily summary view on shared device.
Phase 2: Pilot – Hospitals & Clinics
Objective: Validate user engagement, family experience, and operational fit in hospitals and clinics.
Deployment:
- Selected pediatric hospitals and clinics
- Devices managed by Child Life teams, Existing tablets / phones already in each clinic
- Content partner pilots
- Content Streaming: Curated shows and short films from top kids’ brands (TBC).
- Feedback from children, parents, and hospital staff
Focus Areas:
- Bedside and waiting room usability
- Staff adoption
- Emotional engagement and daily use
- Content adaptation based on feedback
Phase 3: Full Launch
Objective: Deliver a commercial-ready product to hospitals, clinics, and families at scale.
Go-to-Market Strategy:
- Direct licensing to hospitals and clinic networks (B2B)
- Optional parent subscription post-discharge (B2C)
- Fast-start onboarding kit for clinics
- Multi-language & neurodiverse support
- Cloud analytics and adaptive content tuning
Ongoing Development:
- Expanded AI personalization
- Deeper integrations (optional) with hospital systems
- Additional branded content pipelines
- Longitudinal emotional trend tracking for families
A Window Into the Heart of Every Child
From guided stories to interactive games and personalized dashboards, HeartBuddy’s digital experiences comfort and engage children wherever they receive care. Every screen is part of a safe emotional journey – helping kids name their feelings, build confidence through play, and receive real-time encouragement. The platform automatically adapts to each child’s age, mood, and setting – bedside, waiting-room, or at home – creating a trusted space for emotional growth in hospitals and clinics alike.
HeartBuddy Cinema
Our Story
HeartBuddy began with a simple truth: medical visits-whether a five-minute shot in a clinic or a five-day stay on the ward-can feel overwhelming when you’re small, and most digital tools don’t speak kid.
So we set out to change that. By fusing clinically-guided AI with beloved Disney characters, HeartBuddy turns any screen-bedside, in the waiting room, or at home-into an emotional ally. Safe, adaptive, and play-driven, it helps children name feelings, rehearse procedures, and stay brave in the moment.
Co-created by paediatric psychologists, frontline care teams, family advisers, and world-class storytellers, HeartBuddy is more than a product; it’s a new layer of care that travels with every child.
And the journey doesn’t stop at discharge. The same companion that calms a child before a needle can coach them through recovery nights at home, closing the loop between clinics, hospitals, and families.
Designed for clinics and hospitals. Loved by kids and parents. Powered by smart technology and the magic of Disney characters kids already know.
Meet the Minds & Hearts
HeartBuddy sits at the crossroads of innovation, empathy, and world-class storytelling. Our leadership team unites pioneers in paediatric care, child-life psychology, emotion-aware AI, and children’s entertainment-all driven by one mission: to reinvent emotional support for kids throughout every medical journey, from the first clinic visit to the ride home.
Our Leadership Team:
- Yuval Levy – Founder & CEO. Innovation Director
- Esther Howard – Strategic Advisor
- Dr. Mark Sorrentino – Clinical Advisor
- Yuval Kalati – Director of BD & Partnerships
- Ofir Ziv – AI LLM Specialist Advisor
What Parents Ask
- Is this just ChatGPT for kids?
No. HeartBuddy uses AI to recognize emotions and respond – but only within carefully designed emotional flows. All content is age-appropriate and pre-reviewed.
- Can I trust AI with my child’s emotions?
Yes – because it’s not open. Every response is shaped by child development experts and follows emotional safety guidelines.
- Is this therapy?
No. HeartBuddy is not a therapeutic or diagnostic tool. It’s a supportive companion to build emotional awareness and vocabulary.
- Will my child stop talking to real people?
Quite the opposite. HeartBuddy encourages reflection and communication – with caregivers, friends, and teachers.
- How does HeartBuddy help during a quick clinic visit?
Even in a short 10–15 minute appointment, HeartBuddy can calm a child in the waiting room and prepare them for what’s about to happen (like a vaccine or ear check). This makes the visit smoother for the child, the parent, and the staff.
- What if my child gets nervous about medical tools (needles, drills, machines)?
HeartBuddy includes simple role-play and comic scripts that explain these tools in kid-friendly language. Children can “practice” on the character first, so when the real moment comes, they already know what to expect.
HeartBuddy
Rethinking care. One emotion at a time.
Character shown for concept illustration only. © Disney – all rights reserved.