Authors (including presenting author) :
Ng CM (1), Cheng HT (2), KC Cheng (1) So YY (1), Pun CM (2), Lo TM (1), Lau FO (1)
Affiliation :
(1) Physiotherapist, Physiotherapy Department, Tai Po Hospital
(2) System Analysts, Information Technology and Health Informatics Division, Head Office
Introduction :
Physiotherapy helped the patient reintegrate into the community after hospitalization. Reaction time and dual-task ability of the patient were the two essential skills to improve to cope with the familiar outdoor environment. At present, the training of these abilities was preliminary and difficult to provide an objective assessment and training.
Objectives :
To provide the objective assessment and training for the patient in rehabilitation
Methodology :
Globally, the technology developed commercially mainly for the smart home purpose. The hands-free speakers command with your voice to control different functions such as playing music, interactive games, or reading news. The system was well established and brought convenience for humanity. It could be utilized for rehabilitative purposes after modification. With the collaboration of Geek team in IT and HI division, two exercises were designed to assess and train the patient's reaction time and dual-task ability. These exercises stored in the server and could be retrieved by other users anywhere.
Reaction time enhanced by tapping one of the four buttons lighting up within the time limit. Dual-task ability improved by memorizing the sequence of lighting up in four buttons while the patient was walking. Based on the iCloud technology, the performance of the patient uploaded and analyzed immediately.
Result & Outcome :
Twenty patients, who could not walk independently in the community after hospitalization, performed the Physio Tap. After ten sessions of training, 14 patients were able to walk again in the community. All these patients could press the buttons successfully within 2 seconds, and the dual-task training within a 40% difference with the single task (walking only). The exercises provided objective assessment and training for the patient in rehabilitation for different disease-specific groups.
