Patients undergoing physio exercises from home in Singapore have a new tech solution.
Telerehabilitation is the delivery of rehabilitation services over telecommunication networks and the internet. Most types of services fall into two categories: clinical assessment (the patient’s functional abilities in his or her environment), and clinical therapy. There is a new clinical therapy system called Smart Health Telerehab which has been made available for use in Singapore.
To use the service patients open an app on an ipad and then attach sensors to their limbs, depending on what they are exercising. Video demonstrations of the exercises, prescribed by the physio, are then played via the app. The difficulty, reps and angle of movement can be customised by the therapist. The movements are recorded and are available for the therapist to review, motivate and assess progression.
It is ideal for those who are motivated and do not need constant or regular supervision to partake in structured and effective home rehabilitation. There have been some small scale studies in Singapore investigating the efficacy as reported by this newspaper.
It appears to be an easy to use system, i’d be keen to get my hands on it to have a go!