Ella Casano has a health condition that requires her doctors and nurses to give her medicine with an IV. This device delivers fluid from a bag into a vein. The 13-year-old found the IV scary. So she came up with a solution: a teddy bear that covers the IV bag. Ella calls her invention Medi Teddy.
The first prototype, or testable model, Ella built was an emptied plush penguin with a mesh pocket glued to the back. The mesh allowed the hospital staff to check the medicine in the IV bag. Doctors, nurses, and patients loved the design, but they thought the mesh could be sturdier. Ella found a stronger material—and began using a teddy bear.
A factory is now making Medi Teddys. And Ella is donating and selling them to hospitals worldwide!