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Research Project
Harnessing Portable Smart Camera Technology to Support the Communication Skills of People with Aphasia (HARP Aphasia study)
April 2024 to September 2025
Principal Investigators
Dr Anna Caute (Chief Investigator)
Mark Allinson
Mark Allinson
About
More than 350,000 people in the UK have aphasia, a complex language and communication disability usually caused by stroke.
Research has found that Speech and Language Therapy for aphasia can improve reading, writing and speaking skills, but it is challenging to generalise these benefits to everyday life. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommends that assistive technologies should be considered as a method to improve communication in people with aphasia, but there is currently a lack of evidence-based treatments.
The HARP Aphasia Study ran from April 2024 to September 2025. It was funded by a National Institute for Health and Care Research Research for Patient Benefit Grant. The project was based at North East London NHS Foundation Trust and was led by Dr Anna Caute of the University of Essex. The study began with a scoping review of the literature about the use of portable smart-camera technology in communication disabilities and rehabilitation, which will soon be published in the journal Disability & Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology. We then carried out a market survey of commercially available apps suitable for use in healthcare. We identified three apps that had a range of useful smart-camera features.
In the second phase of the study, we worked with people with aphasia and Speech and Language Therapists to develop a novel intervention. We conducted a series of focus groups and workshops with people with aphasia and Speech and Language Therapists. People with aphasia discussed ways that portable smart-camera technology could address communication difficulties and explored existing apps. They were also interviewed about their communication experiences. People with aphasia trialled three apps and chose their preferred one, Seeing AI. They also found Google Lens to be very useful because it can be used in a wide range of different languages and can translate between languages.
We collaborated with people with aphasia and Speech and Language Therapists to develop a new intervention, which uses existing portable smart-camera technology to enhance the communication skills of people with aphasia, targeting spoken language and reading comprehension. We developed a therapy manual and videos demonstrating how to use the apps. In the final stage of the study, people with aphasia and Speech and Language Therapists attended workshops where they gave feedback on the manual and made suggestions for improving it.
We are now preparing a grant application to explore the feasibility of carrying out a trial of the new interventions.Contact
If you would like to find out more about the project, please contact Anna Caute (anna.caute@essex.ac.uk).
Researchers
Leila Mirza
Senior Research Assistant, North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT)
I was the Senior Research Assistant working on the HARP Aphasia Study at NELFT. I have previously worked as a team leader in a supported living service for adults with intellectual disabilities, an assistant psychologist for Talking Therapies and an ambassador for the Stroke Association. I completed both a BSC in Psychology and an MSc in Clinical Neuropsychiatry at King’s College London. My main research interests include dementia and post-stroke disabilities including aphasia, and how modern technologies can be used in diagnosis and treatment.
Mark Allinson
Principal Investigator
Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist, North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT)I was the Principal Investigator for the HARP Aphasia Study and the Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist at NELFT. I manage a large team working with adults with neurological disorders and we have a strong track record of service delivery innovation.
Dr Bundy Mackintosh
Co-investigator, HARP Aphasia Project
I am a psychologist and was a public co-applicant of the HARP Aphasia Study. I have lived experience of aphasia and professional experience in research with over 50 publications. I have worked in several institutions including Sussex, Essex, East Anglia, Open University and MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences at Cambridge. I had my stroke in 2009 and retired in 2011. I have since been able to give some lectures on anxiety and aphasia to interested people, mainly to Speech and Language Therapists. I am a member of several societies and groups, including the British Psychological Society, the British Aphasia Society and the Service User Reference Group at the University of Essex.
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