Development of an interactive and motivating home-based speech and language therapy platform for stroke survivors

%的中风幸存者有沟通困难，包括说话含糊，声音沙哑，难以理解他人或表达自己。这些困难阻碍了喜悦和外出社交的信心，导致抑郁风险增加，独立性和生活质量下降。研究表明，高强度的言语训练(每天45分钟，每周5天)有助于提高言语恢复。然而，公共医疗系统无法满足日益增长的需求，导致大多数患者的等待时间长达数月，治疗服务不足。因此，许多中风幸存者不得不忍受这些令人衰弱的语言障碍。美丽之声一直在开发一种数字私人教练，帮助患者在家中继续进行高质量的语音训练，旨在最大化治疗结果，同时减轻护理人员和医疗专业人员的负担。此外，通过提供有关用户语音质量的信息，Beautiful Voice可以让患者更好地了解他们的语音问题，帮助他们监控和自我管理自己的情况，并更容易地与专业人士沟通。美丽之声还帮助言语和语言治疗师更有效地评估患者的病情并做出临床决定。作为一个基于计算机的家庭言语训练平台，该解决方案面临的最大挑战之一是创造出不仅有效而且引人入胜的训练，供患者日常使用。这就是这个项目的核心问题：如何让家庭语音培训对患者、家人和照顾者来说更有趣？我们将与谢菲尔德哈勒姆大学的Lab4Living合作，与中风幸存者和他们的照顾者合作举办研讨会和活动，以确定和测试可以提高用户参与度和对平台忠诚度的关键功能。在6个月的时间里，15名志愿者将在这方面帮助我们，共同设计并在现实生活中测试解决方案。将探讨的主题包括练习的游戏化、基于社区的互动和现实生活中的实践活动。研究结果将帮助美丽之声改进平台训练活动，使其更具吸引力和激励性，从而更好地在家中进行言语康复。因此，提高了患者在日常生活中的独立性、自信心和社交能力，并降低了NHS和家庭的成本。

64% of stroke survivors have communication difficulties including slurred speech, quiet and hoarse voice, and difficulty understanding others or expressing themselves. These difficulties put off the joy and confidence to get out and socialise, leading to an increased risk of depression and reduced independence and quality of life.Studies have shown that intensive speech training (45 minutes of speech training per day and 5 days a week) helps improve speech recovery. However, the public healthcare system cannot cope with the growing demands, resulting in months of waiting time and insufficient treatment services for most patients. As a result, many stroke survivors have to live with these debilitating speech impairments.Beautiful Voice has been developing a digital personal coach to help patients continue high-quality speech training at home, aiming to maximise therapy outcomes while reducing the burden on carers and healthcare professionals. Additionally, by providing information about users' speech quality, Beautiful Voice allows patients to understand their speech issues better, helping them monitor and self-manage their conditions, and communicate with professionals more easily. Beautiful Voice also assists speech and language therapists to more efficiently assess patients' conditions and make clinical decisions.As a computer-based home speech training platform, one of the biggest challenges for this solution is to create training that is not only effective but also engaging and motivating for patients to use on a daily basis. This is the central question for this project: how can home speech training be more fun for patients, families and carers?In collaboration with Lab4Living from Sheffield Hallam University, we will conduct workshops and activities with stroke survivors and their carers to identify and test key features that can enhance user engagement and adherence to the platform. Over the course of 6 months, 15 volunteers will assist us in this, codesigning and testing solutions in real life. Topics that will be explored include gamification of exercises, community-based interactions, and real-life practice activities.The study findings will help Beautiful Voice improve the platform training activities to be more engaging and motivating, which leads to better speech rehabilitation at home. Thus, improving patients' independence, confidence and ability to socialise in daily lives, as well as reducing costs for the NHS and households.