Smart mobility devices with improved patient-device interaction

摘要

Objective. In our rapidly ageing society, increasing effort is necessary to help the elderly to maintain a high level of independent functioning and full participation in society. When human cognitive capabilities and mobility capacities are impaired, people will lose their independent functioning and require increasing medical and caring help. Up to now the vast majority of current mobility devices are technology-driven developed and designed for the 'average' patient that does not exist. Patients differ in rest function, balance control, muscle force, sensory functions, motivation, drive, practicality, et cetera. So patients are forced to adapt to solutions for the 'average' patient. This results in a difficult, time-consuming rehabilitation process and a non-optimal function restoration. To improve this situation the SPRINT centre will develop the next generation of intelligent mobility devices that prevent deterioration or restore mobility of the individual patient. Main content of paper. Latest knowledge of the learning process of motor control and learning will be used to tune them to the individual patient. We will focus on three stages of mobility support, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation: 1. For prevention intelligent balance and physical condition training devices for elderly will be developed. 2. For treatment intelligent prostheses, orthoses and wheelchairs will be developed. 3. To optimize the rehabilitation process with the device, home training protocols will be developed that place individual patients and their needs at the focal point. Prevention and training protocols will be based on Discovery Learning principles. Serious gaming and embedded device cognition will be used to make training in the home situation an important completion to training in the Rehabilitation Center. All three stages will be controlled via tele-monitoring. Senso-motor information of the patient-device interaction will be used to improve the therapy without intervention. Both during and after the training, the doctor and physiotherapist can give interactive feedback. This monitoring is less time-consuming and more effective than visits to the doctor and he physiotherapist. Results. The elderly will keep their balance capacities and their physical condition on a higher level and, therefore, the risk on falling and fracturing the hip is much smaller, so admittance to the hospital will decrease. Elderly stay independent, so the need for nursing and caring help decreases. Patients with an intelligent prosthesis/orthosis will be admitted for a shorter period, requiring less direct medical care with higher quality results. Patients who use and train with an intelligent mobility device make visits to the doctor and the physiotherapist superfluous, so a shift from Intramural care to Extramural care. Conclusion. This development strategy (patient-driven, adapting to the individual needs, monitoring the interaction between patient and device, monitoring training and interactive coaching) will result in a decrease of admittance to hospital and rehabilitation center, a decrease of the amount of caring help and a shift from Intramural to Extramural care.