Apps and online healthcare support
Healthcare consultations and treatments are traditionally face-to-face. Remote interventions have the potential to preserve resources and tailor care to individual need. These can range from monitoring vital signs remotely, to digital therapies and supporting people in adhering to treatments.
Mental health and dementia
We have a large programme of activity focussing on mental health, noteably through NIHR
MindTech MedTech and In-vitro diagnostic Cooperative. Here, we are identifying unmet clinical needs in mental health and dementia and collaborating on developing and testing a range of new technologies, and providing advice and knowledge exchange to help increase their adoption.
Current areas of focus include technologies and evaluations of:
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dementia
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mood disorders (such as depression and anxiety)
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neurodevelopmental disorders (such as Tourette Syndrome and Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
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young people's mental health
Projects dealing with patient support at home include:
Key research groups and centres of excellence
MindTech
Institute for Mental Health
Mixed Reality Laboratory
Human Factors Research Group
Increasing physical activity
Keeping active is important for people of all ages and abilities, from the workforce, to people with chronic conditions. Digital technology can provide additional support needed to motivate or enable them to participate in exercise effectively.
Management of chronic conditions
We are developing digital technologies to to help patients manage their chronic conditions.
The ‘MyAsthma’ app - devised by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) with asthma researchers at the Nottingham Respiratory Research Unit, allows people with asthma to track and manage their condition. The app can also be used by carers who can track up to five people’s conditions on their smartphone. (Expert: Dominick Shaw)
Find out more about MyAsthma
Workforce health and wellbeing
Digital interventions have been developed to promote health and wellbeing in NHS employees, including frontline care staff.