Simplifying tele-rehabilitation devices for their practical use in non-clinical environments

Abstract

The lack of success of tele-monitoring systems in non-clinical environments is mainly due to the difficulty experienced by common users to deal with them. In particular, for achieving a correct operation, the user is required to take care of a number of annoying details, such as wearing them correctly, putting them in operation, using them in a proper way, and transferring the acquired data to the medical center. In spite of the many technological advances concerning miniaturization, energy consumption reduction, and the availability of mobile devices, many things are still missing to make these technologies simple enough to be really usable by a broad population, and in particular by elderly people. To bridge this gap between users and devices, a smart software layer could automatically manage configuration, calibration, and data transfer without requiring the intervention of a formal caregiver. This paper describes the key features that should be implemented to simplify the needed initial calibration phase of sensing systems and to support the patient with a multimodal feedback throughout the execution of the exercises. A simple mobile application is also presented as a demonstrator of the advantages of the proposed solution.