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.

运动是保持独立、扭转虚弱、随着年龄增长保持健康的核心。该项目建议开发数字增强的职业和物理治疗实践，利用数字技术为家庭环境中身体虚弱的人们量身定制运动干预措施。 65 岁以上的人有一半身体虚弱，预计到 2041 年，英国老年人口将增加一倍，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、行走速度缓慢、疲劳、体重迅速减轻以及活动水平大幅降低。虚弱会影响一个人在姿势之间移动和转换的能力，保持移动并从日常琐事和活动中恢复。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。单纯的感冒就足以减少活动，严重阻碍一个人的独立能力。医疗保健康复专业人员提供运动锻炼可以在长达 12 个月的时间内扭转约 40% 的人的虚弱状况，每年节省 4 -45 亿的 NHS 支出。物理治疗可以评估和制定个性化的有针对性的锻炼，职业治疗 (OT) 可以评估和支持个人在家中的安全和独立。但世界卫生组织强调，医疗保健专业人员数量和技能不足是全球关注的一个关键问题。该项目将利用现有的日常设备开发一种新技术，与康复服务合作，旨在帮助体弱的老年人，活动能力差，有跌倒的风险，或者因为害怕更多地活动和锻炼而避免活动。这可能包括亲属/护理人员能够在患者仍在医院期间前往患者家中，并使用手机应用程序在家中走动，以便手机创建患者家的地图。该地图将使与老年人一起工作的物理治疗师能够了解他们在家中的哪些地方可能需要帮助或最有跌倒风险等。它将考虑到老人的体型、移动方式（步态）和偏好（例如喜欢在厨房里花很多时间）并且会研究可能需要什么解决方案来让他们在家里移动。这些解决方案可能是相当基本的技术（例如助行架）或更具创新性的技术，但本质上我们希望利用已经开发的免费资源并让人们保持移动。该应用程序可能会强调房子的某些部分需要重新设计（例如，床现在从楼下下来，因为楼梯无法管理；需要在冰箱旁边打开更多空间，因为冰箱太紧，因此增加了跌倒的风险）。这一切都意味着，当人们回家时，他们会立即获得所有这些事情的帮助，而不是等待不同的服务到来（需要很长时间/有时根本不来）。此外，还将有技术让人们在家时保持活动，例如制定的物理治疗日常锻炼计划可适应个人的感受，并且非常简单的提醒技术可以帮助人们记住，如果长时间坐着或站在水槽旁时，经常抬起脚来加强腿部力量。我们将使用经济实惠的正在使用的技术，并通过新颖的工程将信息融合在一起，与年长体弱的人一起设计这项技术，使其真正满足他们的需求和偏好。这将涉及对人们进行访谈并在他们自己的家中拜访他们等，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进行更多运动并参与个性化的有效运动计划。