A Personal Mobility Device for Elderly Physical Rehabilitation: a Study of Acceptance and Efficiency

The hospital-to-home transition is increasingly recognised as a critical period in the patient care, during which different incidents can occur and induce frequent re-hospitalisation. There is therefore a growing interest in strengthening the physical and functional capacities of hospitalised elderly patients to prevent re-hospitalisation.

Researchers have extensively studied the use of computer-aided physical rehabilitation to promote physical activity. Serious games coupled with monitoring devices such as Kinect have shown to positively impact patient's motivation to do rehabilitation exercises. Whether such devices would be as efficient as the standard care in the hospital and engage the elderly to remain active after discharge is still understudied.

In the present study , the researchers aim at conducting a randomised clinical trial with 46 patients during 6 weeks, to measure the added value of the REACH concept. REACH is a H2020 funded project, the project abbreviation stands for Responsive Engagement of the Elderly Promoting Activity and Customised Healthcare.

The intervention consists of a mobility device called ActivLife developed by Alreh Medical, that is coupled with serious games, a Kinect sensor and a wearable sensor called Stepwatch, to continuously measure the patients physical activity.

The main objective of the study is to investigate whether rehabilitation using the mobility equipment is as effective as the standard care; secondly, to determine if there is an improvement in clinical outcomes such as physical strength, balance, and risk of falls after using the mobility equipment; and third, to establish whether the use of the REACH concept adds value to the continuity of patient care, specifically in terms of engagement and motivation to be more active during the hospital stay and when returning home.