Digital PhysioOT: a home digital physio and occupational therapy technology for reversing frailty and keeping people moving

Digital PhysioOT：一种家庭数字理疗和职业治疗技术，可逆转虚弱并保持人们的活力

• 批准号: EP/W031531/1
• 负责人: Helen Dawes
• 金额: $ 50.16万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FW031531%2F1
• 关键词: Digital; PhysioOT; home; digital; physio

Movement is at the core of maintaining independence reversing frailty and keeping healthy and well as we age. This project proposes the development of digitally-augmented occupational and physiotherapy practices that uses digital technology to tailor movement interventions for people living with frailty in their home environment. Half of people over 65 are frail, and it is predicted that the UK's population of older adults will double by 2041 therefore the number of people with frailty will rise considerably over the coming years. Frailty is the presence of weakness, slow walking speed, fatigue, rapid weight loss, and a very reduced level of activity. Frailtyaffects a person's ability to move and transition between postures keep moving and recover from everyday chores and activities. Frailty increases risks of illness, poor quality of life, falls, hospitalisation, dependency, disability, and death. A simple cold can reduce activity sufficiently to critically stop a person's ability to be independent. Health Care Rehabilitation Professionals delivering movement exercises can reverse frailty in about 40% of people for as long as 12 months saving 4 -4.5 billion a year in NHS spending. Physiotherapy can assess and prescribe personalised targeted exercises, and Occupational Therapy (OT) assesses and support an individual to be safe and independent in their home. But insufficient numbers and skills of Health Care Professionals have been highlighted as a critical global concern by the World Health OrganisationIn this project will use available everyday devices to develop a novel technology to work with rehabilitation services that aims to help older people who are frail, with poor mobility, and at risk of falling or just avoiding movement because of being scared to move more and do exercises. This will likely include the ability for a relative/carer to go to the person's home whilst they are still in hospital and using a mobile phone app to walk around the home so that the phone creates a map of the person's home. The map will enable the physical therapists working with the older person to see where in the home they may need help or be most at risk of falling etc. It will take into account the person's size, way of moving (their gait), and preferences (e.g. likes to spend a lot of time in the kitchen) and will look at what solutions might be needed to keep them mobile in the home. The solutions might be quite a basic tech (e.g. walking frame) or something more innovative, but essentially we want to draw on free resources that are already developed and equip the person with keeping mobile. It may be that the app highlights that bits of the house need to be re-designed (e.g. bed now comes downstairs as stairs are not manageable; need to open up more space by the fridge as it's too tight and so increases the risk of falls). This all means that when the person goes home they have help with all these things right away, rather than waiting for different services to come (who takes ages/sometimes don't come at all). In addition, there will be technology to keep people moving when they are at home, e.g. a prescribed physiotherapy daily exercise program that adapts to how the individual is feeling and very simple reminder technologies to help people to remember to lift their feet every so often to strengthen their legs if seated for a long time or when they are standing by the sink. We will use affordable in-use technology and with novel engineering fuse the information together working with older frail people to design this technology so that it actually meets their needs and preferences. This will involve doing interviews with people and seeing them in their own homes etc to make sure that we fully understand their situation, needs, and preferences. We will co-create the digital technology system and check it is accurate and usable to help people with frailty to move more and participate in a personalised effective movement program.

随着年龄的增长，运动是保持独立、扭转虚弱和保持健康的核心。该项目提出了数字增强职业和物理治疗实践的发展，利用数字技术为家庭环境中身体虚弱的人量身定制运动干预措施。65岁以上的人有一半身体虚弱，据预测，到2041年，英国的老年人口将翻一番，因此，未来几年，身体虚弱的人数将大幅增加。虚弱是指身体虚弱，走路速度慢，疲劳，体重迅速减轻，活动量减少。虚弱会影响一个人的活动能力，以及在不同姿势之间的转换，保持运动，并从日常琐事和活动中恢复过来。虚弱会增加患病、生活质量差、跌倒、住院、依赖、残疾和死亡的风险。一个简单的感冒就足以减少活动，严重地阻止一个人的独立能力。卫生保健康复专业人员提供的运动锻炼可以在长达12个月的时间里扭转大约40%的人的虚弱，每年节省40 - 45亿英镑的NHS支出。物理治疗可以评估和开出个性化的有针对性的运动，而职业治疗（OT）评估和支持个人在家中安全独立。但是，卫生保健专业人员的数量和技能不足已被世界卫生组织强调为一个严重的全球问题。在这个项目中，将利用现有的日常设备开发一种新技术，与康复服务相结合，旨在帮助身体虚弱、行动不便、有跌倒风险或因为害怕多动和锻炼而避免运动的老年人。这可能包括当病人还在医院时，亲戚/照顾者可以去病人家里，并使用手机应用程序在家里走动，这样手机就可以创建一个病人家里的地图。这张地图将使物理治疗师与老年人一起工作，看到他们在家里可能需要帮助或最有可能摔倒等。它会考虑到人的体型、移动方式（步态）和偏好（例如喜欢在厨房里呆很长时间），并会考虑需要什么解决方案来保持他们在家里的移动。解决方案可能是相当基本的技术（如行走框架）或更创新的东西，但本质上我们希望利用已经开发出来的免费资源，让人们保持移动。这款应用可能会强调房子的某些部分需要重新设计（例如，由于楼梯难以管理，床现在要搬到楼下；需要在冰箱旁边腾出更多空间，因为它太紧了，这样会增加摔倒的风险）。这一切都意味着，当人们回家后，他们可以立即得到所有这些事情的帮助，而不是等待不同的服务来（这需要很长时间/有时根本不来）。此外，当人们在家时，也会有技术让他们保持活动，例如，根据个人感觉制定的物理治疗日常锻炼计划，以及非常简单的提醒技术，帮助人们记住，如果长时间坐着或站在水池旁时，要经常抬起脚来加强他们的腿。我们将使用可负担得起的技术和新颖的工程技术将信息融合在一起与年老体弱的人一起设计这项技术这样它就能满足他们的需求和偏好。这将包括对人们进行采访，在他们自己的家里见他们等，以确保我们完全了解他们的情况、需求和偏好。我们将共同创建数字技术系统，并检查其准确性和可用性，以帮助身体虚弱的人更多地活动，并参与个性化的有效运动计划。