Rehapp

The image features the word "REHARD" creatively arranged, with "RE" in red, "HARD" in black, set against a white background within a black border.

Keeping our most treasured community members on their feet, by providing objective measurements of stability, and connecting them with clinicians.

Team Size:
2
Location:
Australia
Founders:
Justin Fong, Eduardo Cofre Lizama
Program(s):

The Problem

The ability to walk has a significant impact on mobility, independence, and social interaction. Because of this, walking rehabilitation is a main priority for both patients and clinicians after a stroke. However, a lack of objective assessments limits the ability of clinicians to determine the efficacy and to tailor interventions, ultimately limiting recovery. Existing validated measures of walking (e.g., step symmetry) can only be obtained through expensive, expertise-demanding, and time-consuming instrumented lab measurement – and thus is often inaccessible. Therefore, clinicians are left to simply “eyeball” patients’ progression, which is often inaccurate and difficult to communicate. Further, clinical and lab measures cannot be performed frequently enough to monitor progression and timely identify an increased risk of secondary complications such as falls and muscle waste. As a result, therapy is often inefficient, delivering poorer outcomes, and an increased burden of care.

The Solution

We developed the Gait Aid Monitoring Device (GAMD), which is a walking aid (stick or frame) integrated tool that uses a patient’s own mobile phone to assess and monitor walking. Unlike fitness products (e.g., Fitbit) that measure the “quantity” of walking, the GAMD is a “pick up and use” solution that objectively measures important walking parameters such as step length, width, and timing. This provides much-needed information regarding the “quality” of walking, aligning with therapeutic goals. The GAMD is packaged within a tool that many patients are already using – a walking aid – and can be used both in and out of the clinic without the need for clinical supervision. This information can provide immediate feedback to patients during self-assessments, store measures for progression monitoring and share information with clinicians for better communication, goals setting, clinical decision-making and motivation – improving quantity and quality of rehabilitation.