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Employing Social Robots for Managing Diabetes Among Children: SARA

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Abstract

In the current era of technological advancement, children learn through enjoyment during their growth and development stages. Recent studies have found that robotic platforms positively impact diabetes management in childhood and can be used for awareness development among children. To accomplish this task, this paper analyses the efficiency of a new diabetic management system named the Saudi Arabian Robotic Assistant (SARA), which has been developed to manage diabetes in children. SARA is a low-cost, novel robotic platform that enhances children’s skills and improves their health awareness. The proposed system incorporates an efficient method for managing clinical data (i.e., glucose measurement and daily activities) in a fun, child-friendly way. The acceptance of the SARA robotic platform has been investigated through a pilot study of five diabetic kids (aged six to nine years old). The average acceptance rate was close to 88.2%. Overall, SARA is a powerful tool for enhancing dietary adherence in children.

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend their appreciation to the Deputyship for Research & Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia for funding this research work through project number (0049-1442-S).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Artificial Intelligence and Sensing Technologies (AIST) Research Center, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, 71491, Saudi Arabia

    Tareq Alhmiedat

  2. Faculty of Computers and Information Technology, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, 71491, Saudi Arabia

    Mohammed Alotaibi

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  1. Tareq Alhmiedat
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Correspondence to Tareq Alhmiedat.

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Alhmiedat, T., Alotaibi, M. Employing Social Robots for Managing Diabetes Among Children: SARA. Wireless Pers Commun 130, 449–468 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11277-023-10293-8

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