Studies in Health Technology and Informatics最新文献

Since there was no French tool adapted to the reality of people with autism enrolled in a work integration program in Quebec, we have modified the Profile of Rehabilitation and Adaptation in a Work Context for People with Intellectual Disabilities according to the scientific literature on autism. Content validity (n=17) and applicability (n=5) were done with success. Result is an Excel compiler containing 3 informative tabs, 10 tabs on the dimensions of work rehabilitation (59 items) and 4 tabs used to compile the results. Socio-professional practicians are welcomed to use this new tool to pursue construct and internal validity.

Rob'Autism project was started in 2014, it aims at setting a therapy support for ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) teenagers based on robot, art and culture mediations. The objective of the therapy support is to improve social skills. At its center is the improvement of the capacity to build and destroy affective links with the environment, or generate and drop communication relation with the external world. Three points were addressed to restore social links management: individual, collective and social communication. The experiments were organized in 20 working sessions of 1 hour per week and involved 6 teenagers, 3 robots and 6 accompanying people. During the sessions, a repetitive scenario is performed proposing a fixed frame in which controlled events can occur, in such way that the subjects environment remains simplified. During the 20 sessions, the subjects are supervised to build a show, which is presented to an external public. Up to now, eight groups were studied (48 subjects in total by groups of 6). The results show a redefinition of the subjects' identity and their legitimacy as members of the society.

This study aimed to explore the utilisation of conversational interfaces (CIs) by local care service providers (CSPs) and their potential applications in improving the quality of life for older adults. Two workshops were conducted with stakeholders to gather insights and requirements. Although currently not yet utilised by CSPs, stakeholders expressed their openness towards CIs and believed that older adults are very likely to appear receptive to them. Loneliness and isolation were identified as significant challenges, even among older adults living in care institutions. Key requirements for chatbots included complementarity to in-person interactions, user-friendliness, 24/7 availability, and seamless integration into daily life. Ethical considerations, data privacy, and security were emphasised, also highlighting the importance of transparency and limited data retention. Various use cases were discussed, such as assistance, self-management tools, and reminders. The financing issues remained inconclusive, but health insurances showed their potential interest in solutions targeting loneliness.

In the present intervention program an eleven-year-old student with visual impairments was introduced in the basic use of a computer for the first time. The key tools for achieving this goal were the screen reading software "NVDA" as well as the development of a well-structured educational program. The purpose of the intervention was to enhance the student's technological skills, to make him familiar with the use of assistive technology and to enable him to exploit these new skills for his internet socialization. The evaluation of the intervention program's results was completed on three stages: a) after testing the student's knowledge and skills in the basic use of a computer (pre- and post-assessment ), b) after measuring his social network, his self-esteem and the perceived social support, and c) after analyzing the content of the student's written speech based on a series of criteria. (pre- and post-assessment). The results showed that the basic use of a computer was acquired and internet socialization increased his level of self-esteem, his social network and simultaneously created a sense of belonging. Finally, there was an improvement in his writing.

The MSc Educational Assistive Technology (EduAT), is a recently established course, having welcomed the first cohort in January 2021, this group have recently completed their studies. At time of writing (summer 2023) the course is actively recruiting it's fourth cohort who are due to commence in January 2024. The course is now an established part of the AT training offer as the curriculum has been developed and delivered. This paper supports the presentation prepared for AAATE 2023. The EduAT approach uses the ESCO definition of the Assistive Technologist role, which is briefly summarised. The paper continues with how and why MSc EduAT was developed and explores how this MSc fits into a wider AT training ecosystem, noting roles that EduAT has been designed to support. An overview of the curriculum developed to train assistive technologists is included alongside a summary of what has been learned since the course began. The paper concludes by briefly summarising AT and AAC research group plans that have been informed by the experience of developing and delivering the MSc EduAT, and through the contributions students have made to the authors wider understanding of the assistive technology landscape in the UK and beyond.

Background: Extended reality (XR) seems promising for rehabilitation for people with acquired brain injury in terms of reducing professional supervision, faster recovery, shorter hospital stays, and reduced expenses. Since there is no overview this scoping review describes how XR can be utilized in rehabilitation, particularly for people with acquired brain injury (ABI).

Methods: The Arksey and O'Malley framework and PRISMA-ScR reporting guideline were followed. Studies between 2010 and May 2022 screened from healthcare as well as technical databases were imported in RAYYAN. Three researchers selected relevant articles in three rounds based on title, abstract and full text.

Results: 75 articles were included in this scoping review. Most studies used VR as technology with therapy objectives in three main categories: cognitive, physical and diagnostic. The outcomes of the studies show potential and promising results of the use of XR, and enthusiasm with as well patients as professionals. A selection of four domains of the NASSS framework: condition, technology, value proposition and adopters were reported. Important lessons learned by the included studies are development of XR software, improvement of the hardware, improving feeling of safety and giving support to the patient, and support healthcare professionals for acceptance of XR.

Discussion: the use of XR for people with ABI has potential and is promising but not common practice yet. Future research should focus on implementation factors with a diverse and inclusive patient group using service modelling.

A blind student writes and submits reports in Braille word processor, which is difficult for teachers to read. This study's purpose is to make a translator from Braille into mixed Kana-Kanji sentences for such teachers. Because Kanji has homonyms, it is not always possible to get correct results when converting. To overcome this difficulty, we used deep learning for translation. We built a training dataset composed from 15,000 pairs of Braille codes and mixed Kana-Kanji sentences, and a validation dataset. In training, we got an accuracy of 0.906 and a good Bleu score of 0.600. In validation, we found 5 mistaken words in selecting homonymous Kanji by examining translation mistakes from 100 pairs of the verification sentences. The choice of homonymous Kanji depends on the context. For decreasing such type of errors, it is necessary to introduce of translation of paragraphs by increasing the scale of the network model in deep learning, and to expand the network structure.

The mobility of people with motor disabilities combined with sensory or cognitive disabilities, sometimes leads to safety issues that make independent travel impossible. In this context, teams based in Rennes in the west of France have been working together for several years to design two devices: - an power wheelchair simulator to promote learning to drive in an immersive virtual environment - a driving assistance module that can be added to an power wheelchair to pass and avoid obstacles. This transdisciplinary work was made possible by the geographical and human proximity of the scientific, technical and clinical teams in order to best meet the needs of the end users who were integrated into this co-design approach. This article describes the evolution of this work and future prospects.

It is a fundamental right to be able to access society and the services in it. From the perspective of disability rights, people with mobility-related disabilities who use wheelchairs must have equal opportunities to participate in and contribute to society - whether it is school, work, or (activity) leisure. This ongoing study is a longitudinal document study with qualitative content analysis. The document study is based on incoming complaints of discrimination due to inaccessibility received by the DO in Sweden, 2015-2023. The study explores how the users of wheelchairs and scooters experience discrimination due to their inaccessibility, using the ICF framework, among reported complaints to the DO from 2015-2023. The preliminary results show an increase in the number of complaints about discrimination across the entire period of 2015-2023. Responding to peoples' lived perspectives has often been cited as crucial to understanding how inclusion and exclusion play out in real life. A more accessible world depends on the extent of our knowledge and the politics of knowing-making, according to recently published research. Analyzing complaints about lack of accessibility over time generates essential knowledge for how discrimination against people who use wheelchairs can be prevented. This project also contributes to essential knowledge for social sustainability, economic sustainability, and a sustainable, accessible environment for people who use wheelchairs.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) promotes the realisation of the right of persons with disabilities to education through Article 24 - Education. Universal Design in Education (UDE) fosters a whole systems approach so that the physical and digital environments, the educational services, and the teaching and learning can be easily accessed, understood and used, by the widest range of learners and by all key stakeholders, in a more inclusive environment. The whole systems approach incorporates the entire educational environment, as well as the recognition of the capacity for all learners (including persons with disabilities) to learn, and environments which are fully accessible and inclusive. This paper discusses methods whereby a systems approach can be applied to various aspects of education across the life continuum. It further advocates the inclusion of Universal Design as subject matter in curricula and assessment, to ensure a broader and more widespread adoption across the educational spectrum.