Research
Technology to revolutionise stroke care
More than £690,600 has been awarded to researchers in the
Department of Computer Science to develop monitoring systems to support
the rehabilitation of those affected by strokes.
The Department has been awarded the grant, in collaboration with the
universities of Bath, Sheffield Hallam and Ulster, by The Engineering and
Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to develop the Smart
Rehabilitation Project.
The aim of the project, which involves computer scientists,
psychologist, physiotherapist, and medical researchers, is to develop
smart monitoring systems to support hospital or home-based rehabilitation
programmes for older people who have sustained a stroke, and their carers.
Stroke is the biggest cause of severe disability in the UK. According
to the Stroke Association, 10,000 people each year experience a first
stroke, and another 3,000 have a further stroke. The majority of these
people are elderly, who may have been in good health and leading an
independent life, but following a stroke, can find themselves suddenly
hospitalised or receiving hospital services at home, with subsequent needs
for rehabilitation.
However, NHS resource limitations can militate against access to
services; last year only 36% of patients admitted to hospital nationally
spent time in a stroke unit according to Royal College of Physicians.
Therefore, the need to devise advanced technologies which can support the
active rehabilitation of stroke patients in their own home is a key
priority.
Professor Huosheng Hu in the Department of Computer Science will lead
the Essex branch of the consortium that will be developing prototype
hardware and software that can be used to monitor the quality and duration
of therapy interventions in a home or hospital environment.
Professor Hu explained: 'We will focus on the development of two levers
of complexity. One is a 3D optical tracking system that will be used to
capture kinematic data from individual physiotherapy intervention and
provide a full kinetic and kinematic modelling for gait and movement
analysis in a laboratory setting. Another is solid-state motion sensors
such as accelerometers and gyroscopes, which can be incorporated into a
bean bag to monitor the patients movements at home. An interactive user
interface will be developed and a RF wireless link will be used to send
the data to a central unit which has an internet connection.'
The technology developed through the project will enable stroke
patients to continue with their rehabilitation at home without the
presence of a trained therapist. The physiotherapists or carers will be
able to monitor the progress of the person at a distance through the
internet connection. The combination of technology and knowledge
management will support specific rehabilitation interventions and measure
the effectiveness of the resulting actions undertaken by the participant.
Professor Hu said: 'The key challenge is to make sure the developed
system is cost-effective, easy to use and able to meet the needs of stroke
patients and carers.'
Professor Hu
Professor charts life of 'Railway King'
Professor of Accounting, Sean McCartney, is to see his
biography of one of Britain's first modern-day entrepreneurs, railway
magnate George Hudson, published in the new year.
Off the Rails: George Hudson, The Life of a Great Victorian Capitalist
charts the extraordinary successes and subsequent downfall of George
Hudson who has gone down in history as the 'Railway King' thanks to his
prominence for buying and building railways during the nineteenth century.
However, Professor McCartney's book argues that his life and career has a
much wider significance than this.
Professor McCartney explained: 'Hudson was the first of a modern breed
of entrepreneur, a man who financed his business empire by using his
extraordinary energy and gift for publicity to draw the investing public
into his visionary schemes.'
Having invested £30,000 in the North Midland Railway in 1827, Hudson
continued to invest money in the railways and at one stage owned a third
of all the railways in England and was one of the richest men in the
country. However, during the late 1840s Hudson's decision to use inside
information to manipulate share prices led to his forced resignation as
chairman of all the railway companies under his control, and an
investigative committee which uncovered all sorts of financial
malpractice. Hudson was eventually jailed for his debts and died in 1871
in abject poverty.
Professor McCartney added: 'This is a story of a man brought up in
modest circumstances and without special technical skills who yet managed
to acquire huge wealth and spend his way into the highest levels of
London's political and social world, before suffering the crushing
humiliation of one of the great business scandals of the Victorian era.
His extraordinary career, its dramatic collapse, his subsequent social
ostracism and the vengeful way he was pursued by his creditors and
opponents tell us a great deal about the times in which he lived.'
Professor McCartney's book, co-written by Tony Arnold, will be
available in bookshops in the new year.
Also in the printed November edition of Wyvern:
