Database of technologies for remote rehabilitation assessment
4 October 2021
Technologies for Remote Rehabilitation Assessment is a searchable database of tools and technologies that are available for patient rehabilitation and suitable for use outside of a clinical setting.
The development of this free-to-access resource was supported by funding from the Welsh Government Ser Cymru III program under the project award ‘Clinical acceptance of technology in remote rehabilitation assessment: addressing urgent COVID challenges to drive future technology transfer’. It was the result of a collaboration between Cardiff University and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board Rehabilitation Engineering Unit and was conducted by Professor Cathy Holt, Professor Valerie Sparkes, Professor Colin Gibson, Dr. Jen Davies, and Ms. Jenny Williams.
The combination of increased demand and decreased capacity placed on the NHS over the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a need to consider delivering some non-emergency rehabilitation services remotely, outside a clinical setting, where possible. This database of tools and technologies is one part of a larger project. The overarching goal is to identify tools and technologies that can be used for remote rehabilitation and can satisfy a clinical need within NHS Wales, and identify barriers and facilitators to the uptake of these tools in clinical practice.
Tools and technologies included in the database have not yet been evaluated for efficacy. The database is intended as a resource to facilitate the identification of available tools and technologies across academia and industry. Work is ongoing to evaluate the strength of the evidence supporting the use of tools and technologies to facilitate remote rehabilitation and barriers and facilitators to the use of tools and technologies in remote rehabilitation.