Telerehabilitation
Uses technology, such as video cameras, computers and telephones, to provide rehabilitation
services to patients who live a distance away from rehabilitation experts.
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Telerehabilitation Program
In 1998, Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute, Catholic University of America and National Rehabilitation Hospital were awarded a five-year grant from the National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). The grant establishes
a rehabilitation engineering research center on telerehabilitation to focus on
the following priorities
- Telecommunication systems providing ongoing rehabilitation education, training,
and support services
- Telemonitoring and Teleassessment tools for Telerehabilitation services
- Therapeutic interventions in remote settings
- Virtual reality projects
The goal of the grant is to increase access for patients in rural areas – through
high-speed cable lines and the Internet.
Telehomecare
Investigate barriers to the acceptance and utilization of telehomecare-rehab technologies
(telehomecare systems, assistive devices/environmental controls) for family caregivers
of stroke patients in rural home settings. Study viable models of telehomecare-rehab
in rural settings. Develop and compile training materials.
Telecoaching
Investigate the potential utility of offering vocational rehabilitation services
remotely.
Telemonitoring
This activity is aimed at developing and evaluating means for tracking the progress
of an individual’s rehabilitation in the home environment.
Teleassessment
The goal of this activity is to demonstrate that Teleassessment of pressure ulcers
in a remote setting is comparable to assessments made in a medical center clinic.
Telerehab Consumer Toolkit
This activity addresses a collective focus on HomeCare and Telerehab technology,
and uses a unique approach. It can be viewed as a "virtual activity"
that delivers a set of tools to the HC/TR-Tech Center after about one year, then
ceases to exist. It is then available as an evolving national resource, complete
with technical assistance and documented, modular tools.
Home Telerehab
This activity will dramatically extend the utility of home videophone telerehabilitation
by combining present face-to-face static consultation capability with three novel
features.
- "Image Mobility", i.e. user-friendly mobility and adjustability
of the at-home camera, video monitor and lighting – or alternatively multiple
fixed cameras – to permit individuals at home to bring the therapist anywhere
in their living space and to demonstrate activities.
- "ADL demonstration studio" capability in a “wired” Independence
Square® designed to allow rehabilitation professionals to demonstrate
to customers how to manage specific tasks and environments at home
- "Touchscreen Interaction": Computer graphic and digitized real-world
images which can be presented to the customer as back drops for the service
provider’s image will be developed. Therapies and assessments will be designed
to make use of these by providing the customer with a transparent touch sensitive
panel on the screen of her/his television.
Behavioral Telehealth
Behavioral Telehealth, the provision of mental health diagnosis, intervention,
consultation, supervision, and education through the use of telecommunications
technology had become the single most common type of Telehealth consultation by
the end of 1997.
Two research studies will be undertaken, one in the area of videoteleconference
(VTC) treatment of anxiety and pain, and the other in the area of telephonic assessment
of cognition and mood, using rigorous experimental design to compare efficacy
of conventional with Telehealth service delivery. These two research topics address
existing needs/opportunities within our currently ongoing clinical and research
activities, which assures that the research will have practical significance and
relevance.
Utility of Virtual Reality Technology for Gaze Behavior Rehabilitation
The goal of this activity is the development of both targeted, cost-effective
rehabilitation techniques for autism and of novel techniques for assessing and
intervening with visual spatial neglect, based on results of empirical investigations
of gaze behavior.
We will assess the utility of virtual reality technology in investigating anomalous
gaze behavior and providing indications for further investigation and development
of intervention techniques in two studies. Study 1 will apply the technology to
visual scanning of faces and non-face objects. Eye gaze data will be analyzed
to provide information about underlying cognitive deficits for two experimental
populations. Study 2 will extend these findings to dynamic and context-filled
environments. Pilot study of an intervention utilizing this technology based on
the results of the studies will be carried out during the fourth year of this
activity, and plans for new studies will be developed during year 5.
Teleplay: Therapeutic Play, Including Embedded Teleassessment and Virtual Reality
Interfaces, For Children with Disabilities
The importance of play on children's cognitive and motor development has long
been recognized. Giving children control of their environment is a key functional
goal in the clinical service delivery of assistive technology. The objective of
this activity is to provide children with motor disabilities opportunities to
navigate and manipulate the external environment using advanced interfaces to
facilitate interaction in virtual and web-based environments.
Telepolicy
This activity addresses public policies that either aid or hinder the development
of Telerehabilitation in rural areas and evaluates the implementation of Telerehabilitation
at four sites. The activity will address several main policy domains: health plan
payment policies; telecommunications policy; Food and Drug Administration regulations;
state licensure laws; and federal rural health policy.
Links
National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research
National Institute
on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
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