Tackling Frailty - Facilitating the Emergence of Healthcare Robots from Labs into Service

Access to rehabilitation and use of these services is often limited by frailty-related physical and cognitive impairments, transportation issues or other individual living contexts which affect engagement at the level and frequency required.

While digital approaches for tele-rehabilitation such as video conferencing using Zoom or WhatsApp are becoming more prevalent, access require digital skills, and for people with sensory or mobility impairments, these platforms often don't have the affordances, or the flexibility required for an effective remote tele-rehabilitation session. The aim of this PhD will be to investigate the use of telepresence robots, remotely operated by volunteers or health care professionals, as well as operating autonomously, to provide more pro-active and frequent social interaction and structured support for rehabilitation in their own homes.

Outcomes will include objective measures of function or activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living, including mental well-being.

The research will include addressing communication needs when interacting with, and through these systems, integrating the system with other ambient and physiological sensors using machine learning and AI to improve personalisation and feedback during the rehabilitation session. The research will also compare the efficacy and sustainability of a telepresence robot-based rehabilitation approach with other interventions, with a view to identifying the technology and service infrastructure required to deliver tele-rehabilitation at scale.

This PhD will be conducted in collaboration with the National Rehabilitation Centre.