Koalaa Kommunity: A holistic soft-orthotics service to help the over 50's adapt to upper-limb impairment and remain mobile, active and socially-connected in the community

Koalaa Kommunity：全面的软矫形器服务，帮助 50 岁以上的人适应上肢损伤，并在社区中保持活动能力、活跃度和社交联系

• 批准号: 10026510
• 金额: $ 82.53万
• 依托单位: KOALAA LIMITED
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Collaborative R&D
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=10026510
• 关键词: Koalaa; Kommunity; holistic; soft; orthotics

**Motivation**There are many contributors to loss, impairment or deterioration of upper limb function in older adults. In all instances, the majority not only struggle with everyday tasks, but are forced to stop doing the activities and hobbies they love. This leads to loss of social connections, confidence, independence and subsequently a more rapid deterioration in overall mental/physical health and steady decline in quality of life.* Of the 1.3m UK stroke survivors, 77% (~1m) have upper limb/arm weakness or disability* ~232,800 over 50's suffer wrist fractures, leading to long-term conditions impacting strength/mobility in arms, wrists and hands* 66% of Multiple Sclerosis population have upper-limb motor impairments.* These challenges have been exacerbated by COVID-19; Loneliness in over-50s to increase 49% by 2026* \>8,000 UK 50+ year-olds with limb-lossCurrently, older adults suffering from limb impairment are under-served in the 50+ age group.**Koalaa Kommunity**In response to this challenge and an identified need from Koalaa and Clinicians, Koalaa will develop "Koalaa Kommunity" - an end-to-end orthotics service that enables older adults to be provisioned (sized, fitted, trained and encouraged) with lightweight, low-cost and easy-to-fit orthosis products, complemented by a range of user-designed interchangeable toolsets to support Activities of Daily Living such as gardening, cooking, cycling etc.This subscription service gives older adults with limb impairment the support needed to remain physically active and independent for longer, via our functional orthoses and access to a Virtual Clinic and online community.**We'll develop the following innovations;**1. **Lightweight, low-cost wrist orthosis**: development of our patented soft-yet-strong PAWW sleeve to accommodate older adults with limb impairment (e.g. stroke survivor).2. **5 x Interchangeable, self-attachable tools to support various activities:** Initial 5 activity-specific attachments developed to support specific activities (gardening, golf, cooking etc.).3. **Virtual Clinic:** Remote matching, sizing, ordering and fitting of our orthoses via telemedicine, online portal and digital resources.4. **"Limb Buddies":** All Koalaa users matched with peer-to-peer 'limb buddies'; Koalaa employees with limb difference themselves, for relatable, tailored customer service.5. **Koalaa Kommunity**: Online forum, personal profiles, blogs, photo and videos6. **End-user Idea Lab---Rapid Design Cycle service:** Crowdsourced ideas for new interchangeable tools, 6-week idea-to-product design cycle.7. **Digital Resources Hub:** How-To's/guides/educational videos, Pre/post amputation/surgical support, Mental health resources**Human Centred Approach**With support from Dorset Orthopaedic(subcontactors) we'll work directly with older adults, clinicians and physiotherapists to develop an end-to-end subscription service that focuses on human-centred design and provides ongoing support to individuals with upper limb impairment.

**动机**导致老年人上肢功能丧失、损伤或恶化的因素有很多。在所有情况下，大多数人不仅难以完成日常任务，而且被迫停止他们喜欢的活动和爱好。这会导致社会联系、信心、独立性的丧失，进而导致整体心理/身体健康状况更快恶化，生活质量稳步下降。*在 130 万英国中风幸存者中，77%（约 1m）有上肢/手臂无力或残疾*约 232,800 名 50 岁以上的人患有腕部骨折，导致长期状况影响手臂、手腕和手的力量/活动能力*66% 的多发性硬化症患者患有腕部骨折。 上肢运动障碍。* COVID-19 加剧了这些挑战；到 2026 年，50 岁以上人群的孤独感将增加 49%* \>8,000 名英国 50 岁以上肢体丧失者目前，50 岁以上年龄组中患有肢体障碍的老年人得不到充分服务。**Koalaa Kommunity**为了应对这一挑战以及 Koalaa 和临床医生确定的需求，Koalaa 将开发“Koalaa Kommunity”——一个端到端的服务 矫形器服务，使老年人能够配备（尺寸、适合、培训和鼓励）轻质、低成本和易于安装的矫形器产品，并辅以一系列用户设计的可互换工具集，以支持日常生活活动，如园艺、烹饪、骑自行车等。这项订阅服务通过我们的功能性矫形器和 访问虚拟诊所和在线社区。**我们将开发以下创新；**1。 **轻质、低成本的腕部矫形器**：开发我们获得专利的柔软而坚固的 PAWW 套筒，以适应肢体损伤的老年人（例如中风幸存者）。2。 **5 个可互换、可自连接的工具，用于支持各种活动：** 最初开发了 5 个特定活动附件，用于支持特定活动（园艺、高尔夫、烹饪等）。3。 **虚拟诊所：** 通过远程医疗、在线门户和数字资源远程匹配、调整尺寸、订购和安装我们的矫形器。4。 **“肢体好友”：** 所有 Koalaa 用户都与点对点“肢体好友”匹配； Koalaa 员工本身就有肢体差异，可提供相关的、量身定制的客户服务。5。 **Koalaa Kommunity**：在线论坛、个人资料、博客、照片和视频6。 **最终用户创意实验室---快速设计周期服务：** 新的可互换工具的众包创意，6 周的创意到产品设计周期。7。 **数字资源中心：**操作方法/指南/教育视频、截肢前/后/手术支持、心理健康资源**以人为本的方法**在多塞特骨科（分包商）的支持下，我们将直接与老年人、临床医生和物理治疗师合作，开发端到端订阅服务，专注于以人为本的设计，并为上肢障碍人士提供持续支持。