Scottish Health Innovations Ltd
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iPam |
 Dr Alastair Cozens, Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine based in Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen, has been working with a collaborative team at the University of Leeds to develop the iPAM-Intelligent, a pneumatically assisted movement therapy. SHIL has been working in collaboration with the team to commercialise the project.The clinical need Exercise is the mainstay of upper limb rehabilitation after stroke; the speed/extent of recovery depends on the amount of exercise which the patient undertakes. For most patients, physical support and guidance of the limb are required during exercise. This currently involves hands-on intervention from a physio/occupational therapist, which is labour intensive. The NHS has insufficient staffing to deliver adequate exercise therapy; this resource limitation is common to most healthcare providers worldwide. The Innovation iPAM is a robotic system which increases the opportunities for stroke patients to exercise their stroke affected upper limbs. iPAM can assist patients to undertake additional exercises between their conventional therapy sessions. Therefore, it increases the amount of exercise therapy within existing staff resources.  iPAM uses a video screen to present targets towards which the patient is asked to reach. The patient’s movement is assisted at the upper arm and forearm by two pneumatic robots, simulating a therapist’s hands. These are coordinated by a control system, which delivers assistance according to the therapist’s prescription. The control system intelligently uses clinical rules to adapt the assistance according to the patient’s progress; it also varies the video targets to maintain interest. The system provides performance feedback to the patient; this encourages participation and also directs the patient’s attention to aspects of limb movement which require particular practice.iPAM has been developed by a clinically-led team comprising doctors, physiotherapists and engineers, collaborating closely with a user group of stroke patients and their carers. This combination of clinicians and users has assured a practical design which is clinically relevant and acceptable to patients. How SHIL helped? SHIL have been involved in the project to help NHS Grampian mange their part in the commercialisation. SHIL have been instrumental in helping apply for an HTD grant on behalf of the team as well as managing the collaboration with industrial partners have now been forged to develop iPAM into a marketable product which is suitable for volume production. Stage of development The first prototype was developed with funding from the National Istitute of Health Research (NUHR) New and Emerging Applications of Technology (NEAT) programme. It has undergone a Phase I clinical trial with ten stroke patients; this demonstrated that it can safely deliver exercise therapy which is clinically appropriate. The next stage of development has begun where the selected commercial partners are assisting in the development of the marketable product. |
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