Timo Maessen
When children end up in a hospital bed after surgery or illness, getting them to move is crucial for a good recovery. Without daily activity, children can lose up to 1.5% of muscle strength each day. Yet, young patients often spend up to 95% of their hospital stay in bed. Sterile hospital rooms and clinical tools simply don't resonate with a child's need to play, explore, or compete. Parents often desperately want to help, but lack the means to do so. This often leaves physical activity dependent on scheduled physiotherapy sessions, meaning children get less than 30 minutes per day. Thus, we set out to find ways to help young patients recover more quickly, by bringing movement into their own hospital room.
What if hospital rooms were designed for play, not bedrest?
I designed OverDeTop, an interactive, bridge-shaped staircase that turns the sterile hospital room into an active and social playground. Children only need to press the big red button to start various audiovisual games which can be played either on their own or together with their family. I developed OverDeTop in close collaboration with paediatric doctors, nurses and physiotherapists from the MosaKids Paediatric Hospital and Groene Hart Hospital. This led to a design that is not only fun, but also supports effective storage and transportation by being collapsible, revealing its wheels. A 2.5-week deployment proved it easily integrated into hospital workflows and effectively got children, and their parents, moving.
OverDeTop shows that hospital stays can be about more than clinical treatment and that play can act as a catalyst for physical recovery. The unique bridge shape naturally onboards parents, turning them from passive observers into active coaches and competitors. In addition to the expressive games, the staircase can be placed directly at the bedside. Hence, even the more hesitant players can sit on the edge of the bed and participate in many entertaining moments.
With two awards at the TU/e Contest 2026, OverDeTop has shown that play is not purely about fun, but that it can effectively support children in their physical recovery, while supporting the existing workflows of hospital staff.
#medtech #healthcare #interactiondesign #play #pediatriccare #innovation