A Proof-of-Concept IoT System for Remote Healthcare Based on Interoperability Standards

[EN] The Internet of Things paradigm in healthcare has boosted the design of new solutions for the promotion of healthy lifestyles and the remote care. Thanks to the effort of academia and industry, there is a wide variety of platforms, systems and commercial products enabling the real-time information exchange of environmental data and people's health status. However, one of the problems of these type of prototypes and solutions is the lack of interoperability and the compromised scalability in large scenarios, which limits its potential to be deployed in real cases of application. In this paper, we propose a health monitoring system based on the integration of rapid prototyping hardware and interoperable software to build system capable of transmitting biomedical data to healthcare professionals. The proposed system involves Internet of Things technologies and interoperablility standards for health information exchange such as the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources and a reference framework architecture for Ambient Assisted Living UniversAAL.This research received no external funding. The APC was funded by Research group Information and Communication Technologies against Climate Change (!CTCC) of the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain.Lemus Zúñiga, LG.; Félix, JM.; Fides Valero, Á.; Benlloch-Dualde, J.; Martinez-Millana, A. (2022). A Proof-of-Concept IoT System for Remote Healthcare Based on Interoperability Standards. Sensors. 22(4):1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/s2204164611722

Users' Experiences of a Mobile Health Self-Management Approach for the Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis: Mixed Methods Study

[EN] Background: Despite a large number of clinical trials aiming at evaluating the digital self-management of chronic diseases, there is little discussion about users¿ experiences with digital approaches. However, a good user experience is a critical factor for technology adoption. Understanding users¿ experiences can inform the design of approaches toward increased motivation for digital self-management. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the self-management of cystic fibrosis (CF) with a focus on gastrointestinal concerns and the care of young patients. Following a user-centered design approach, we developed a self-management app for patients and parents and a web tool for health care professionals (HCPs). To evaluate the proposed solutions, a 6-month clinical trial was conducted in 6 European CF competence centers. This paper analyzes the user acceptance of the technology and the benefits and disadvantages perceived by the trial participants. Methods: A mixed methods approach was applied. Data were collected through 41 semistructured qualitative interviews of patients, parents, and HCPs involved in the clinical trial. In addition, data were collected through questionnaires embedded in the self-management app. Results: Support for enzyme dose calculation and nutrition management was found to be particularly useful. Patients and parents rapidly strengthened their knowledge about the treatment and increased their self-efficacy. Reported benefits include reduced occurrence of symptoms and enhanced quality of life. Patients and parents had different skills, requiring follow-up by HCPs in an introductory phase. HCPs valued obtaining precise information about the patients, allowing for more personalized advice. However, the tight follow-up of several patients led to an increased workload. Over time, as patient self-efficacy increased, patient motivation for using the app decreased and the quality of the reported data was reduced. Conclusions: Self-management enfolds a collaboration between patients and HCPs. To be successful, a self-management approach should be accepted by both parties. Through understanding behaviors and experiences, this study defines recommendations for a complex case¿the demanding treatment of CF. We identify target patient groups and situations for which the app is most beneficial and suggest focusing on these rather than motivating for regular app usage over a long time. We also advise the personalized supervision of patients during the introduction of the approach. Finally, we propose to develop guidance for HCPs to facilitate changes in practice. As personalization and technology literacy are factors found to influence the acceptance of digital self-management of other chronic diseases, it is relevant to consider the proposed recommendations beyond the case of CF.The authors of this paper, on behalf of the MyCyFAPP consortium, acknowledge the European Union and the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Framework Programme for funding the project (ref. 643806). The authors would like to thank all project partners for their collaboration during participant recruitment and project management. Without the dedication of participants in terms of time, effort, and valuable input, this publication would not have been possible. The authors would like to thank all the participants who contributed to this work.Floch, J.; Vilarinho, T.; Zettl, A.; Ibáñez Sánchez, G.; Calvo-Lerma, J.; Stav, E.; Halland Haro, P.... (2020). 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A demonstration of multi-party dialogue using virtual coaches:The first council of coaches demonstrator

We demonstrate here the first Technical Demonstrator for Council of Coaches a project that is aiming to deploy a platform for virtual health coaching, and will incorporate computational models of argument and dialogu

Agents United: An Open Platform for Multi-Agent Conversational Systems

The authors would like to thank all students and researchers who have worked with various versions of the platform and who have provided valuable feedback for its development. This work was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 769553 (Council of Coaches). The Agents United Alliance is supported by the Personalised eHealth Technology programme of the University of Twente.The development of applications with intelligent virtual agents (IVA) often comes with integration of multiple complex components. In this article we present the Agents United Platform: an open source platform that researchers and developers can use as a starting point to setup their own multi-IVA applications. The new platform provides developers with a set of integrated components in a sense-remember-think-act architecture. Integrated components are a sensor framework, memory component, Topic Selection Engine, interaction manager (Flipper), two dialogue execution engines, and two behaviour realisers (ASAP and GRETA) of which the agents can seamlessly interact with each other. This article discusses the platform and its individual components. It also highlights some of the novelties that arise from the integration of components and elaborates on directions for future work.European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme 769553Personalised eHealth Technology programme of the University of Twent

Evaluation of the effectiveness of educational escape rooms within health professions education: A systematic review protocol

Escape rooms are being increasingly employed as an educational approach within health professions education. Given the rapid increase in their application, investigators have adopted diverse evaluation methods, many of which utilise ad-hoc instruments. To inform future evaluation methods and the adoption of validated evaluation instruments, a systematic review is planned. This protocol outlines the steps of this review, which will collate and synthesise the evidence related to the evaluation and efficacy of educational escape rooms within health professions education. A search, applying terms for escape rooms, healthcare professionals and evaluation, will be conducted using multiple databases. Studies will be screened against eligibility criteria and all eligible studies will be quality assessed using a validated tool. Data will be narratively synthesised