For most 11-year-old boys, playing on a computer is just another hobby. But after Cameron Cohen had surgery for a benign tumor on his leg, he turned his passion for computers into creating an iPhone app, called iSketch, that lets people draw on a computer screen.
And he brightened the picture for other young people by donating much of the profits to Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA so the hospital can buy electronic gear for other sick children. The iSketch is now available through the iTunes Store for the iPod Touch and the iPhone.
Cameron, now 12, created the iSketch during his nine-month recovery. He had no help from his parents, who know nothing of the computer languages their son has mastered, says his father, Jeffrey Cohen.
"When he was injured and recovering, he couldn't participate in the sports he usually plays, like tennis and basketball," Cohen says, "and so computers were a more natural outlet. ... He could sit and spend time on the computer."
Before he was hospitalized at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital in March 2009, Cameron had participated in summer programs in robotics and computer programming. But during his recovery, he began learning more about computers through the Internet, books and a Stanford professor's video tutorial he found on iTunes about creating iPhone apps.
Cameron says he has learned programming languages such as C++, Java and Objective C.
"After having such a great experience at the hospital, I knew I wanted to do something to help the kids there, mainly preteens and teens," Cameron says. "If they have to be in hospital for whatever reason, I wanted to do something to make their stay better, like offering electronic items and games that could make them happier."
Cameron requested that Mattel Children's Hospital buy more interactive electronic devices for teens and tweens, says Amy Bullock, director of child life and child development at the hospital.
"This is a very unique donation in the sense that Cameron is so bright and talented that he could translate his expertise into developing the iPod app," she says. "The fact the he has such a big heart in sharing the proceeds is truly remarkable. We've never had anything of this level before."
The Cohens recently announced that they would donate $20,000 of the iSketch profits.
iSketch is not the only drawing and painting app around, but it is one of the least expensive at 99 cents. It allows users to paint with their fingers, choose multiple brush sizes and colors, add captions and save and send pictures via e-mail.
Several technology websites have reviewed iSketch, including downloadsquad.com, which cited "excellent quality of the application."
Cohen says Cameron is now working on an update, and the iSketch will soon be available for the iPad.
To see more of USAToday.com, or to subscribe, go to http://www.usatoday.com
Copyright 2009 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.