This project seeks to develop a home version of Rehabilitation Gaming System (RGS), a hospital-proven neurorehabilation technique in which post-stroke patients play virtual games to aid motor and cognitive recovery. By allowing people to play RGS games in their homes, this project will reduce the cost of therapy while increasing patients’ quality of life.

Origins

The SPECS research group of IBEC and Eodyne Systems have developed and commercialised RGS, a science-based ICT solution for neurorehabilitation targeting motor and cognitive recovery after stroke. RGS combines brain theory, AI, cloud computing and virtual reality. It has been clinically validated, proving to be superior to other methods and products while reducing costs for therapy centres and hospitals. A home version will be patient friendly and allow for wider use.

Team

The RGS@Home team, lead by Prof. Paul Verschure, is an international and truly multidisciplinary group, with expertise in psychology, neurorehabilitation, engineering, biology, mathematics, physics, computer science and humanities. Along with medical and technical expertise, the team also has experience in start-up creation and market-oriented research and development.

The project

The project RGS@HOME will develop a home version of Rehabilitation Gaming System (RGS), an existing commercial product created by SPECS/IBEC and Eodyne Systems S.L. and utilised successfully in neurorehabilitation centres. Combing brain theory, AI, virtual reality and cloud computing, RGS@HOME uses games to assist patients with motor and cognitive recovery after a stroke. The solution will speed-up recovery and, by allowing for home treatment, it will drastically reduce the length of hospital treatment that patients require.

RGS@HOME is the result of more than 15 years of research in brain theory and the adaptation of ICT techniques to neurorehabilitation. The total investment executed to this point surpasses €10 million.

The EIT Health framework and funding allowed a partnership gathering the whole spectrum of public and industrial stakeholders from three European regions with both public and mixed private/public reimbursement models (Sweden, France and Spain).

See additional information here.

Impact

RGS@HOME will help patients by speeding up recovery and promoting intensive daily limb use at home. While it drastically reduces the duration of treatment at hospitals, because it brings treatment home, the solution allows patients to benefit from an overall increase in hours of training, and can enhance retention of the results they obtain. The benefit for hospitals, therapy centres, and ultimately payers, is that it acts as a workforce multiplier, reducing the time needed by the therapist to treat patients.

Why this is an EIT Health project

This innovation goes to the core of the EIT Health Focus Area of “Bringing Care Home”, providing all the benefits of home care. The treatment will be less burdensome, and therefore more effective, because patients can use it according to their own schedules. It also will be less costly because it reduces the need for a physical therapist’s time.

External partners

• Eodyne systems
• Saddle Point Science Ltd
• Hospital CHU Limoges