A horizon scanning system for identifying new telehealth innovations

The paper presents the development of a new horizon scanning tool to identify recent innovations in telehealth technologies; specifically, those that are relevant to the care and management of long-term conditions (LTCs). It also discusses the issues regarding matching appropriate technologies with relevant applications

Maavis@School

Managed Access to Audio, Visual and Information Services (Maavis) was launched as an open source beta release application in September 2008. Maavis was developed by the authors with the participation of older people using a prototype called ‘SIMWIN’ which showed proof of concept and indicated beneficial outcomes1-3. The concepts behind Maavis, which partially were guided by human computer interfacing for people with dementia4, were always recognised as beneficial to other populations5. During 2008 these concepts, summarised as use of IT without understanding it or extreme simplification of the interface, were evaluated with four school pupils with varying physical and learning impairments. Again this work indicated beneficial outcomes6. This lead to the authors adding features to Maavis to make it suitable for use in the special needs school environment, eg being network friendly and single switch scanning access. This was achieved through brainstorming and consultations with staff within three schools. These developments will be tested during the autumn term 2009 in the same three schools. The details of the developments and their success so far in the classroom will be reported. In June 2009 Maavis was adopted by JISC’s OSS Watch as a ‘strategic’ project that will significantly address accessibility issues of IT and the web for groups who struggle with standard IT and/or are e-isolated. The aim is to establish an active open development community by the first half of 2010. Links with others in the adult education field and with UK and international care providers are already initiated

Locating assistive technology research in a clinical setting : an occupational perspective

Peer research was used to identify the experience and perceptions of assistive technology and telecare adoption in a UK healthcare context. A narrative account of participation and learning is intended to provoke further dialogue. There have been a range of policy and implementation initiatives that are within the direct experience of organisational actors over the last 15 years and this engagement allows for specific reflection on the service achievements and some of the barriers to implementation of technology changes in rehabilitation practice and service design. Insights are presented that suggest a reification of research priorities and a need to align technology, through patient and public engagement, to provider priorities. In addition, an improvement in adoption would be based on sustained capacity building within the Occupational Therapy workforce and a re-focus on specific knowledge sharing and learning about technology. Given the shared desire to promote the sustained adoption of appropriate technology for assistance and rehabilitation it is suggested the voice of practitioners is strengthened through research and knowledge exchange in the clinical setting

Access visits using video communication

An online video communication system is presented that enables Occupational Therapists (OTs) assess patient homes for assistive technology needs before acute care discharge to ensure appropriate independence and recovery conditions. Explorations under multiple conditions revealed perspectives from OTs and volunteer facilitators. Preliminary key findings and insights are reported

Weaving a clinical academic career: illuminating the method and pattern to follow

The benefits of developing occupational therapists as clinical academics are well recognised. They include improved healthcare outcomes and experiences for service users, efficiencies for organisations and increased prominence of occupational therapy within healthcare. Yet occupational therapists describe uncertainty about how best to navigate clinical academic career pathways. We suggest that occupational therapists can increase their research aspirations, confidence and capacity by following a four-step method, weaving together clinical, academic and personal development. We outline our view of clinical academic development as a process with flexibility to incorporate occupational therapists’ diversity of interests and circumstances. By demystifying and illuminating the process of clinical academic development, we believe that occupational therapists may be able to weave more clinical academic development opportunities into their careers and increase the profession’s research capacity

Assistive technology to monitor activity, health and wellbeing in old age : The wrist wearable unit in the USEFIL project

This paper presents the assistive technology used to perform activity monitoring in the USEFIL (Unobtrusive Smart Environments for Independent Living) project, particularly the wrist wearable unit. USEFIL includes a number of activity monitoring devices alongside some condition specific medical devices, a dedicated electronic health record database and communication backend. The system is designed as an assistive technology to provide long-term monitoring for older people in their own home and communicate the data that is gathered into a decision support system that can be used by the older person's carers to improve their care and allow them to remain independent in their own home. The wrist wearable device developed for the USEFIL project, the various health indicators extracted from its inbuilt sensors and how these are used to understand the health and wellbeing of the older person are discussed in this paper

Feasibility study of portable technology for weight loss and HbA1c control in type 2 diabetes

Background The study investigated the feasibility of conducting a future Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) of a mobile health (mHealth) intervention for weight loss and HbA1c reduction in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Methods The intervention was a small wearable mHealth device used over 12 weeks by overweight people with T2DM with the intent to lose weight and reduce their HbA1c level. A 4 week maintenance period using the device followed. The device records physical activity level and information about food consumption, and provides motivational feedback based on energy balance. Twenty-seven participants were randomised to receive no intervention; intervention alone; or intervention plus weekly motivational support. All participants received advice on diet and exercise at the start of the study. Weight and HbA1c levels were recorded at baseline and weeks 6, 12, and 16. Qualitative interviews were conducted with participants who received the intervention to explore their experiences of using the device and involvement in the study including the training received. Results Overall the device was perceived to be well-liked, acceptable, motivational and easy to use by participants. Some logistical changes were required during the feasibility study, including shortening of the study duration and relaxation of participant inclusion criteria. Descriptive statistics of weight and HbA1c data showed promising trends of weight loss and HbA1c reduction in both intervention groups, although this should be interpreted with caution. Conclusions A number of methodological recommendations for a future RCT emerged from the current feasibility study. The mHealth device was acceptable and promising for helping individuals with T2DM to reduce their HbA1c and lose weight. Devices with similar features should be tested further in larger studies which follow these methodological recommendations

An experiment in online AT open innovation

Objective. To initiate an experiment to see if an online tool can facilitate creation of new Assistive Technology (AT) through open innovation that engages the public (primarily end users and carers), prescribers, innovators and manufacturers. The final results and conclusions of the funded project which focus on AT relevant to access and use of Information Technology will be included in the poster. Main content. The REALISE project has created a prototype online platform. Open innovation is not widely employed in AT and so the approach in the platform assumes AT community members will explore the use of open innovation. The platform thus needs: information (definitions, guidance, and discussion of motivations of stakeholders), inclusive human computer interfacing, and open innovation process tools. Additionally, while good communication will be fundamentally important there are several other functional broad dimensions, ergonomic, language, educating and external connections/interaction. Solutions addressing these dimensions have to suit and excite the people expected to form the community otherwise user engagement is likely to be poor. Results. The platform website design and functioning is summarized, showing the open innovation framework employed (i.e. idea, incubator and project) and the use of an open community based solution as a market place for open source assistive technology engagement. The project's one year duration allowed for only one prototype to be developed and explored, so design decisions were made largely based on drawing parallels from other contexts and adhoc consultations with stakeholders. As in change management strategies, a bias to involve those who understood and were keen to try REALISE was employed, hoping that these people could then become advocates for open innovation in general and REALISE specifically. Networking to key external organisations was used both for promotion and engagement in the study. Conclusion. Designing any completely new service where a significant number of the potential users are not usually involved in the processes is challenging. The need for open innovation novices to gain access to support is seen as essential. Due to the project constraints a more participatory involvement of stakeholders and exploration of alternative strategies was not possible. Nevertheless new knowledge was gained about the use of open innovation in the field of AT