A medical engineering and technology journal has dedicated a full edition to the work of a team that develops innovative technology solutions to support people with long-term conditions.

NIHR Devices for Dignity Healthcare Technology Co-operative, which is hosted by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), has had 12 articles published in the Journal of Medical Engineering and Technology.

It features case studies and examples of NIHR Devices for Dignity HTC’s work, and academic discussions of the projects. There is a focus on ‘empathic engineering,’ meaning technologies that have been designed to meet the needs of people with long-term conditions, and that enable them to live with dignity.

Dr Nicola Heron, Programme Manager for NIHR Devices for Dignity HTC, said: “The editor contacted us because they were very interested in what we do and thought our work would be valuable to a wider audience.

“To be approached is recognition that we are doing something unique and interesting. It was a great opportunity for us to be able to collaborate with our partners to pull together our work and present it in depth.”

The ‘Head Up’ project is among those highlighted in the journal. NIHR Devices for Dignity HTC worked collaboratively with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) patients and others to develop a revolutionary collar that supports the patient’s head and neck, which helps with everyday tasks such as eating and communicating.

Dr Heron said: “We are particularly proud of this because it shows what Devices for Dignity is all about. It has taken years of hard work to address an unmet need for patients, and it is now almost ready to go on the market.”

Other articles cover topics such as technology innovations for patients with kidney disease, functional electrical stimulation for tetraplegic patients, communication aids, and robot assisted rehabilitation.

NIHR Devices for Dignity HTC brings together inventors, clinical and healthcare staff, industry, academics, charities, the public, patients and carers to develop solutions to areas of unmet clinical and patient need. You can find out more about what NIHR Devices for Dignity HTC do on the website, www.devicesfordignity.org.uk.

The special edition of the Journal of Medical Engineering and Technology can be accessed at www.tandfonline.com/toc/ijmt20/39/7. Selected articles will be free to access without subscription for a limited time.

Commenting on her appointment, Dr Elizabeth Lindley said: “The renal team at Devices for Dignity has supported Quanta’s innovative ideas and vision of a truly patient-centred machine since the initial concept of the SC+. Now the device has been realised, I hope that it will soon be helping to increase independence and quality of life for haemodialysis patients.”

Download the full press release here.

PATIENTS living with long-term conditions such as kidney disease and stroke have told researchers, clinicians, charities and industry partners what it is like to live with their condition and how it can have an impact on their quality of life, dignity and independence.

During a patient-led event, organised by the NIHR Devices for Dignity Healthcare Technology Co-operative (D4D HTC), patients highlighted the realities of living with disabilities and illnesses on a long-term basis. These included everyday problems such as feeling isolated and a reduced ability to perform simple everyday tasks, from eating and drinking difficulties to struggling to open medications or get around.

The event gave patients the opportunity to tell the NHS and industry what their healthcare product priorities should be. The information will be used to help shape future plans for new technologies that can improve patients’ lives. D4D is one of eight specialist Health Technology Centres making positive healthcare changes in partnership with industry. D4D specialises in empowering people with long-term conditions and disabilities to live more dignified and independent lives through the development of new healthcare products and technologies. It is hosted by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Nicola Heron, Programme Director for D4D, said: “This was the first time we’ve held an event like this, and it was great to see almost 100 members of the public, health organisations, charities and industry come together to look at ways in which we can creatively come up with technological-based solutions that could really make.

David Coyle, Renal Patient Lead with D4D, was instrumental in making this event happen, alongside patient advocate and stroke survivor Kate Allatt. David, a survivor of kidney failure, kidney transplant, cancer, and lung disease, said: “When we think about long-term conditions we tend to think about the initial impact on people’s lives, but what’s not often spoken about is how people manage day in, day out with conditions such as kidney disease, which often entail frequent trips to the hospital for treatment and considerable adjustments to everyday routines that lead people feeling vulnerable and no longer themselves.”

Stories shared at the event included that of Sheffield-born Kate Allatt, a mother-of-three who ’awoke in her own coffin’ after suffering a stroke which left her with locked-in syndrome. The terrifying condition left her unable to move any part of her body. Although she was considered unconscious, she wasn’t, and felt stripped of all her dignity and ‘trapped inside her body’. During the event Kate started the discussions around devices by introducing some ideas that could have helped her when she was at her most vulnerable, such as a device to help her control painful bladder spasms, and a communication board where she could select ‘End of word’ whilst spelling words out.

My Dignity Means: A Patient-led Event took place in Sheffield on 2 June 2015.

Technology first of its kind to incorporate eye gaze tracking, mouse pointers and switch scanning options into one package so that speech and language therapists can use these methods to accurately record a child’s receptive language level.

A NEW high tech computer-based speech and language assessment tool helping professionals accurately record the levels of understanding of children who have a physical disability could improve the outcomes of thousands of non-verbal children.

The Computerised Accessible Receptive Language Assessment (CARLA) software has been designed in response to an audit which identified that speech and language therapists found it difficult to get an accurate picture of a child’s receptive language using current tests if the child had a physical disability and couldn’t speak or point to pictures to show what they could understand.

The technology has been developed by the NIHR Devices for Dignity Healthcare Technology Co-operative (D4D), a specialist centre based in Sheffield, and Barnsley Hospital’s Assistive Technology team in partnership with Jabbla, a Belgian technology company. D4D is hosted by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and empowers patients to live more dignified, independent lives.

Incorporating eye gaze tracking, mouse pointers and switch scanning options, the software is the first assessment of its kind to combine all these features into a single software package so that speech and language therapists can use these methods to accurately record a child’s receptive language level.

Children with physical disability often use these methods for other computer programmes so by integrating these options into CARLA , the software aims to reduce the barriers these children face when being assessed. Estimates show that up to 6,200 children and young people in England need communication aids to make choices and create messages using pictures, symbols, words or letters that can be linked to an electronic voice.

According to the Office of the Communication Champion, providing an appropriate communication aid can save over £500K in a child’s lifetime, as well as enabling them to receive appropriate educational provision.

Simon Judge, joint communication aid project lead for D4D and senior clinical scientist from Barnsley Hospital’s Assistive Technology Team said: “We’re delighted to be launching this new assessment. Up until now, when a child cannot point to their answers, speech and language assessment tools have relied on the therapist’s interpretation of the child’s responses, but this system gives an objective record of these responses as the child can make their choices using eye gaze, head switches or mouse pointers.

“As a result of having a more accurate picture of these children’s ability to understand language, the software will make it easier for speech and language therapists to target their therapy at an appropriate level. This could make a significant difference in terms of their educational outcomes and ensuring the appropriate language support is put into place.”

The software, which has been designed for children with a physical disability, also has the potential to help children with sensory or attention difficulties and adults with communication disabilities such as those with learning difficulties, dementia or aphasia.

Currently speech and language therapists use a variety of published assessments in order to determine the comprehension of spoken language of children with physical disability. These assessments traditionally use drawings which the child points to in order to make a selection.

When a child can not point to the pictures because of a physical disability, therapists normally adapt them by adapting the pictures or layout, by using alternative pictures or objects or by trying to match what they see the child do in their natural environment to levels on the assessment. The adaptations made generally invalidate any standardised scores given by the assessment.

Physically disabled children may be unable to point to their answer and therefore the assessor often has to observe the child’s movements, body language or eye signals and interpret their responses. Clearly this is subjective and open to human error, so CARLA aims to provide objective results and reduce the need for human interpretation. Inaccurate results may mean some children are believed to understand parts of language, such as vocabulary, cognitive and linguistic concepts, when in fact they do not.

Alternatively the reverse may occur where the children may understand more than they have ever been able to demonstrate. These results may impact on the level of their educational work, their language therapy programme, their communication aid use and the expectations of those around them.

The software will initially be available for use by speech and language therapists and teachers.

For more information about the new Computerised Accessible Receptive Language Assessment (CARLA) visit http://www.techcess.co.uk/.

Image: A screenshot from the Computerised Accessible Receptive Language Assessment (CARLA) software.

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