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Making best use of the latest technologies to help in the rehabilitation of stroke patients came under the spotlight at a seminar organised by a leading Heriot-Watt research group.
Resolving the disconnect between technology development and implementation into practice will require innovation from developers, users and policy makers.
There are an estimated 15 million new strokes each year worldwide and in the UK stroke is the leading cause of disability among adults.
Dr Lynne Baillie is Director of the Interactive and Trustworthy Technologies (ITT) research lab in the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, a team aiming to reduce the healthy years lost to stroke through greater integration of technologies that promote patient centred functional recovery.
Their one day seminar, part of a series of events funded by the Scottish Universities Insight Institute, was attended by local, national and international stakeholders, including a range of policy and practice organisations such as Chest and Heart Stroke Scotland, the Stroke Association, Scottish Government and the NHS.
Dr Bailey said, "Rehabilitation technologies ranging from mobile apps to advanced robotics can support efficient and effective delivery of rehabilitation. However, the integration of these technologies into mainstream practice has been slow and variable. Reasons for this include lack of familiarity, availability, cost, set-up time and lack of evidence. Resolving this disconnect between technology development and implementation into practice will require innovation from developers, users and policy makers. Current models of practice need to be challenged if technologies are to be fully exploited for patient benefit."
The team will be presenting some of their findings from the project and about their future work at the Scottish Parliament in November.