We round up the latest innovations in rehab tech, from falls detection in care homes to deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s
BrainSense adaptive deep brain stimulation tech personalises Parkinson’s therapy
For 30 years, people with Parkinson’s disease have benefitted from deep brain stimulation (DBS), a technology that transmits electric signals to the brain to disrupt certain unwanted movement.
With BrainSense aDBS, people with Parkinson’s disease can now benefit from real-time, adaptive therapy that dynamically adjusts stimulation based on each person’s unique brain activity, both in clinical settings and daily life.
Meanwhile, BrainSense Electrode Identifier can improve DBS programming by ensuring optimal initial contact selection in less time.
Paolo Di Vincenzo is president of the Neuromodulation business, which is part of the Neuroscience Portfolio at Medtronic.
He said: “BrainSense technology is at the centre of personalising DBS therapy, and we are advancing this capability through innovation that builds on our sensing-enabled DBS platform.
“From improved precision for contact selection to automatically adjusting DBS therapy, these milestones mark significant advancements in our ability to customise care for people with Parkinson’s, and we’re just getting started.
“The mission is to impact and improve many more lives with Medtronic DBS therapy.”
Accelerator set to speed development of crucial rehab tech
A new impact accelerator will connect hundreds of East Midlands MedTech SMEs with health and care professionals, academics and the public to drive the design, development and delivery of pioneering rehabilitation technologies.
Nottingham Trent University has been awarded £2.5 million by the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to lead the project, which is expected to accelerate innovation into health and care pathways and transform how people recover and regain independence and function following injury or illness.
The ‘EMERGE’ project – East Midlands Emerging RehabTech Growth Enterprise – will launch the East Midlands as the UK’s ‘RehabTech Valley’, a leading hub for rehabilitation technologies excellence.
The University of Nottingham, Loughborough University and the University of Derby will co-lead, supported by a 30-strong consortium spanning research and innovation, medical and health tech organisations, the NHS, local government and economic development.
Using robots in nursing homes linked to higher employee retention and better patient care
A recent study on the future of work found that robot use is associated with increased employment and employee retention, improved productivity and a higher quality of care.
The research has important implications for the workplace and the long-term care industry.
Yong Suk Lee, associate professor of technology, economy and global affairs at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, was the lead author for the study.
Patients benefited in facilities that have used robots, according to the study.
The nursing homes that Lee’s team studied reported a decrease in the use of patient restraints and in the pressure ulcers or bedsores that nursing home residents commonly suffer, largely because of a lack of mobility.
Both metrics are widely used in the long-term care industry to measure patient outcomes, Lee said.
By removing the physical strain associated with certain tasks, Lee said, robots may have made room for care workers to focus on tasks better suited for human beings.
Longitude Prize on Dementia partners with LSE to evaluate finalists
The Longitude Prize on Dementia has partnered with the London School of Economics and Political Science to help evaluate the five finalists for the annual prize.
Selected from 24 semi-finalists in October 2024 and awarded a further £300,000 in funding and a package of expert support each, the five finalist teams are now refining their technologies; designed to help people living with dementia lead more independent lives.
The teams will submit their final proposals to win the £1 million final prize in late November this year.
The prize finalists represent a diverse range of innovations, from high-tech glasses designed to help people recognise objects to football-pitch-sensor technology applied discretely in the home to predict and prevent falls.
Fall detection technology helps Essex County Council eliminate hospital admissions
One of the largest single installations of 4D imaging fall detection technology in the UK has cut fall related hospital admissions and long lies to zero.
In partnership with Essex County Council more than 316 Vayyar Care 4D imaging sensors have so far been installed across the county in care homes, sheltered accommodation and in the private homes of people most vulnerable to falls.
Vayyar Care’s fall detection system uses smart sensors that utilise 4D imaging technology.
The sensors are installed throughout a property to walls and ceilings to discreetly monitor a person’s movements via radio frequency waves.
The system can detect even the most subtle signs of a fall – including in pitch darkness – and their use eliminates the need for cameras to be used for monitoring falls.
