Do it like a detective: build your brain & body profile like researchers in the AINCP do!

As part of KU Leuven’s 2026 Kinderuniversiteit program, young visitors had the chance to step into the shoes of scientists for a day. Researchers from KU Leuven organized the interactive workshop “Do it like a detective: Build your brain & body profile”, where children aged 8 to 13 explored how researchers study brain and body functions, turning science into play and curiosity into discovery.

The event took place on 11th October and was coordinated by Alexandra Kalkantzi, within the European research project Artificial Intelligence in Cerebral Palsy (AINCP), in which KU Leuven serves as a clinical partner. Driven by the role of personalized medicine that is a central idea of the AINCP, this workshop aimed to engage children and explain them in a fun way this concept.

We interviewed Alexandra to know more about this initiative.

1. Alexandra, thank you for taking the time for this interview. Can you first tell us a little about your research and current role at KU Leuven?

I am a pediatric physiotherapist by training and currently in the third year of my doctoral training in Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy at the Neurorehabilitation Research Group of KU Leuven (https://gbiomed.kuleuven.be/english/research/50000743/research/research-units/enrgy). Within my PhD, I investigate the relationship between executive functions (the brain’s cognitive tools for self-control, planning, and problem-solving) and upper limb function in children with unilateral cerebral palsy. The overarching rationale of my research is that optimal hand use is not solely determined by motor abilities. Rather, we hypothesize that cognitive processes play also an important role in how children perform everyday manual tasks.

2. What was the goal of the workshop?

The workshop offered children a hands-on insights on how combinations of clinical data can help create personalized profiles that guide therapy for children with cerebral palsy.

The workshop aimed to introduce children to neurorehabilitation research in a fun, age-appropriate way. By replicating how scientists assess motor and cognitive functions, participants created their own “Brain & Body Profile”, a colorful, figure-filled booklet summarizing their individual results.

3. How many children joined and why?

The workshop was held twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and was fully booked, with thirteen children participating in each session (ages 8 to 13). Children were curious to play the role of scientists and learn more about their “brain and body” abilities. The participants were typically developing children or with minor disabilities (e.g., visual impairment) not enrolled in the AINCP study. However, we wanted all participants to learn what “personalized medicine” means and how our research uses data-driven tests to monitor the individual abilities of children with cerebral palsy.

4. How was the workshop designed?

The session was designed and led by pediatric physiotherapists from KU Leuven’s Paediatric Neurorehabilitation Research Unit - Alexandra Kalkantzi, Lize Kleeren, Lisa Mailleux with the support of our Master’s students Celeste, Noor and Fleur - in collaboration with the AINCP project team. The concept was co-developed with clinicians experienced in assessing children, ensuring that each activity reflected real clinical methods while remaining safe, accessible, and engaging.

After a short introductory story, the children were divided into small groups and rotated through four interactive activity stations:

Station 1: Visual Attention

This station focused on how efficiently participants could direct and sustain visual attention. The tasks required quick detection of relevant information while ignoring distractions, providing insight into the ability to recognize important visual cues and maintain focus.

Station 2: Visual Perception

At this station, tasks examined how the brain interprets visual input. Children identified shapes, recognized patterns, and found differences between images, illustrating how visual information is processed and understood.

Station 3: Grip Strength

This station assessed hand strength using a hydraulic dynamometer. Each child performed three trials with each hand and calculated the average value, representing the grip strength of the right and left hands.

Station 4: Hand Dexterity

The last station evaluated the speed of fine hand and finger movements. Using a standard clinical test, participants moved small cubes from one compartment to another as quickly as possible within one minute. The final score corresponded to the number of cubes transferred.

5. And what did they find out?

By the end of the session, each child held a completed Brain & Body Profile, filled in with their own results, as a playful symbol of their individual neurodiversity. The children were especially enthusiastic, not only about completing the tests but also about calculating their own scores and comparing them with the “typical” reference ranges.

What stood out most was that no two profiles looked alike. As one of the therapists reflected: “That’s what makes everyone unique - and that’s why research in personalized medicine like in the AINCP is so important.”