Parents facing the daunting task of preparing a young child for a surgical procedure will be relieved to hear of a helpful new app designed to put kids at ease.

Dr. Robert Baird, a practising surgeon at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, saw a need for a communications tool that could ease anxiety about the process.

My First Surgery, available for free download at the Apple iTunes store, offers both a child’s view and parent’s view with important information, tips and insight. Parents can upload their child’s picture into the app so it feels familiar to child users. Kids can explore five easy-to-use scenes with interactive characters and equipment.

Designed locally, My First Surgery was the winner of the McGill University Centre for Biomedical Innovation Health App Creation Challenge.