Devices for Dignity (D4D), the organisation which works to improve the quality of life for patients with long term conditions has been awarded further funding.

After a successful first five years, D4D, hosted by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, has been awarded £800,000 funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to continue to help produce devices or aids which solve real areas of need for patients.

D4D brings together clinicians, patients, industry, charities and inventors to develop medical devices or technologies which assist people with their daily living. This can range from sophisticated communication aids to the development of new treatments for incontinence.

D4D focuses on three main clinical areas: Urinary Continence Management, Renal Technologies and Assistive and Rehabilitative Technologies.

The programme is hosted by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and delivered through a co-operative of seven NHS Trust and Foundation Trust nodes around the country, and three academic partners (University of Sheffield, University of Cambridge and Coventry University). The new funding will allow D4D to extend its national network of nodes.

Wendy Tindale, Clinical Director for Devices for Dignity, said: “We are delighted to receive the funding for the next four years from the NIHR. We are proud of our real partnership approach which translates research and innovation to the person’s bedside – at home or in a hospital.

“We aim to build on our successes and become recognised as the national expert group in dignity-related unmet needs, by providing new medical technologies and inventions to help patients maintain dignity and improve their quality of life.”

New rehabilitation devices for patients recovering from stroke and an on-dialysis exercise programme which could help maintain muscle function and prevent patients becoming dependent on wheelchairs are just some of the innovations D4D is involved with.

The world’s first virtual assessment clinic in the field of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) has been launched.

ELAROS 24/7 is an innovative new way of carrying out initial assessment as well as the long term management and monitoring of patients with LUTS.

LUTS refers to a range of urinary problems that can significantly impair the quality of life for sufferers. Effective treatment requires clinical evidence on frequency of urine volumes passed and urgency, which is typically recorded using paper diaries.

Use of such diaries is infrequent outside specialist services due to limited experience in primary care and the difficulty of interpreting the raw, variable data.

A potential solution to these problems has been developed by ELAROS 24/7 Ltd (Electronic LUTS And Remote Observation Service). The system, ELAROS 24/7, was launched at a special event at the University of Sheffield’s conferencing facility, The Edge, which was attended by more than 100 clinicians, business people and key stakeholders.

ELAROS 24/7 Ltd is a partnership between Devices for Dignity (D4D)/Sheffield Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust, MDTi Healthcare Ltd, Medipex (NHS Innovation Hub for Yorkshire and Humber) and RTC North, with funding awarded through the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC).

The ELAROS system consists of three parts – the UroDiary (to collect data), the UFlow meter (to measure flow rates) and the UroConnect (to manage and analyse data).

Informed by NICE guidelines on the identification and management of LUTS, ELAROS 24/7 is used by the patient to record times, volumes passed, and the desire to urinate. Once recoded, data is downloaded to the GP’s computer system for data visualisation, interpretation and patient management.

The UroDiary®, a portable electronic diary, is more discrete than writing in a diary, and makes data easily traceable and transferable between healthcare providers. Simple data capture, analysis and quicker diagnosis will potentially save the NHS £66M per year* through reduction in referrals to secondary care and diagnostic costs.

Professor Chris Chapple, D4D’s Urinary Continence Management Theme Lead, said at the launch event: “A bladder diary is an essential tool for clinicians assessing lower urinary tract symptoms – but a paper diary is not practical and often not reliable.

“ELAROS 24/7 gives the clinician a huge amount of information and allows us to effectively and accurately evaluate and treat people.”

It is also predicted that the ELAROS service will make significant savings on pharmacology budgets of at least 10% on the drugs being used in this area of health, with a pilot being run in February 2013 to test these assumptions.

Professor Paul O’Brien, Chief Executive of ELAROS 24/7 Ltd, said: “ELAROS 24/7 reduces the need for patients to make unnecessary journeys to their GP and also cuts down on inappropriate referrals – therefore benefiting both GP and patient, as well as reducing costs for the NHS.”

D4D team members from St. James’ Hospital, Leeds, have implemented a novel approach to body composition monitoring which allows many more patients to benefit from this objective assessment of haemodialysis patients’ fluid status. This helps ensure that the right amount of fluid is removed from the patient’s body during their treatment.

D4D’s Renal Technology Theme works to facilitate the development and adoption of systems, devices and services to assist renal patients’ independence and help achieve better outcomes. One of the Theme’s key projects is the validation and implementation of body composition monitoring (BCM) which provides an objective assessment of haemodialysis patients’ fluid status.

The models used for BCM were developed and validated for measurements between hand and foot, meaning that patients with lower limb amputations or heavily bandaged feet can be excluded from measurements. The team in Leeds performed a study which compared hydration measurements made from hand to hand to standard hand to foot measurements in 101 patients.

Sufficient agreement was found between the readings to encourage the use of this approach in patients unsuitable for a standard measurement. Consequently, a number of patients in the care of the Renal Unit in Leeds, such as bilateral amputee Terry seen right, are benefitting from having their fluid removal routinely guided by hand to hand measurements.

This work was recently presented at the annual conference of the European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association and European Renal Care Association in Strasbourg to great interest.

For the conference abstract, see abstract O52 in:
http://www.edtnaerca.org/pdf/education/2012_Abstract_Book.pdf

A Devices for Dignity (D4D) supported product that provides postural support to physically disabled children on board aircraft was launched this month at an event at the Gatwick headquarters of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

TravelChair 2012, designed by the children’s disability charity MERU, is portable so can be securely installed on board the majority of types of aircraft (including helicopters) on request.

D4D supported MERU with TravelChair by providing advice and funding for research.

Virgin Atlantic has already placed orders for the TravelChair 2012 and MERU are actively participating in negotiations with several other major airlines.

The launch event was attended by representatives from the travel industry, disability groups and major airlines, as well as two of MERU’s patrons, Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen and Richard Stilgoe.

Dame Deirdre Hutton, Chair of the CAA, who hosted the launch event on 22 May 2012, said: “There are nearly a half a million disabled children in the UK. For all of us, flying opens up worlds of possibility. For disabled children its significance can be even greater. It can mean life-changing experiences – like swimming with dolphins – or life-changing treatment. MERU deserve the utmost credit for developing the TravelChair, with its potential to enhance so many young lives.”

For further information contact us on enquiries@d4d-htc.org.uk

Two companies collaborating with D4D have taken part in a major global business summit on Advances in Assistive Medical Technologies as part of the Paralympic programme.

The global summit, which was organised by United Kingdom Trade and Investment (UKTI) and took place at British Business Embassy Lancaster House in early September, was attended by Tomorrow Options and Kingkraft.

The summit, which took place during the Paralympic Games, focused on the impact of innovative approaches to rehabilitation and assistive technologies on the activities of people living with injuries, disabilities or illnesses.

Paulo Ferreira dos Santos, from Tomorrow Options, a company that develops electronic devices for markets including health, sport and industry, delivered a presentation called ‘Advances in human biomechanics assessment’.

Kingkraft displayed its Shower Chair project, which aims to develop an ultra-lightweight, mobile and compact collapsible shower chair (transportable by disabled people themselves) for the independent disabled person showering markets.

The Summit was part of an 18-day programme taking place over the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Chancellor, Business Secretary, Foreign Secretary and over 30 other British ministers welcoming over 3,000 business leaders and global figures.

The series of global business summits was the largest and most ambitious set of trade and investment events ever held in this country.

Speakers included Professor Sir Bruce Keogh (KBE FRCS, Medical Director of the NHS), Mike Spindle (Trekinetic), Professor Guang-Zhong Yang (Imperial College) and Geoff McGrath (McLaren Applied Technologies).