ANNUAL REPORT 2025 / 2026
That level of intelligence is especially important for children. 
Brain development is dynamic, particularly for children who 
have experienced a brain injury before or shortly after birth. 
What works one day, or even one moment, may not work 
the next. Instead of placing the full burden of control on the 
child, Rouhani envisions a partnership between the child 
and the machine. However, advancing that vision requires 
building a stronger foundation for pediatric BCI research, and 
that means collecting more data. 
Rouhani and his team are well on their way. Today, they are 
working to create what they hope will become one of the 
world’s largest, most inclusive and most diverse EEG-based 
BCI database for children. With Research Ethics Board 
approval now in place, he’s actively preparing to recruit 
participants and begin building the resource that could 
support researchers around the world.
In the future, he hopes to see BCIs becoming part of a 
broader ecosystem of assistive technologies for children, 
extending beyond wheelchairs to communication 
technologies, robotic assistive devices, and wearable 
rehabilitation systems. Ultimately, he’d like to see these 
innovations move beyond the research lab and into 
rehabilitation programs, schools, and homes supporting 
children beyond the clinical setting. 
Becoming a parent last year also changed the way he sees 
children. “It’s not a cliché to say that when you see a child, 
especially a child close to the age of your own children, you 
see your own child in them. You really do.” 
That perspective, and the collaborative environment at the 
Glenrose, continues to inspire his work. “The Foundation has 
been extremely generous, and I would say, also courageous, 
in supporting this work.” 
INVESTING IN 
POSSIBILITY
We hope our support gives 
children greater opportunities to 
communicate, move, learn, and 
participate, helping them live 
fuller and more independent lives.
– Ted and Iona Degner
The Foundation has 
been extremely 
generous, and I 
would say, also 
courageous, in 
supporting this work.
– Dr. Hossein Rouhani 
For more than a decade, Ted and Iona 
Degner have supported the Glenrose 
Hospital Foundation, believing in the 
difference rehabilitation can make in 
people’s lives. 
When the Foundation approached 
them about supporting pediatric 
brain-computer interface research, 
they immediately saw the potential. 
“At the time, brain-computer interface 
technology was still new,” they say. 
“But we felt our donations were 
needed there.” Since then, the family 
has donated $1 million toward 
advancing pediatric brain-computer 
interface research at the Glenrose. 
Through their investment, their hope 
is that every child has the opportunity 
to succeed. 

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