Tele-rehabilitation: present and future.

SUMMARY: During the last decade we assisted to relevant progress in rehabilitation studies and in technological development. From the combination of these issues rises the tele-rehabilitation--a subfield of telemedicine consisting of a system to control rehabilitation "at distance"--as an actual possibility of application and a promising development in the future. The present paper offers a short review of the state of the art in the field of tele-rehabilitation, with a special focus on upper limb tele-rehabilitation. The experience is also briefly reported of the preliminary application of the H-CAD (home care activity desk) system and the HELLODOC (Healthcare service linking tele-rehabilitation to disabled people and clinicians) tele-rehabilitation service, conducted by the authors within two European projects in the period 2003-2005 and 2005-2007 respectively.

Technical assessment of the HELLODOC service.

SUMMARY: A technical assessment activity has been conducted by Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) in the European project HELLODOC (Healthcare service linking tele-rehabilitation to disabled people and clinicians) for evaluating the tele-rehabilitation service. The activity was mainly focussed on architectural aspects and a step by step monitoring of the service. It was mainly related to the following aspects: service implementation, service performances, service integration and fault management. The technical assessment analysis demonstrated that the service worked in a quite satisfactory way, also considering the pioneering aspect of the project; the set of malfunctioning occurred, which had a low impact on the service continuity, are typical of a post-debug phase.

Tele-rehabilitation and e-learning: the HELLODOC educational experience.

SUMMARY: A web-based learning activity in the field of tele-rehabilitation was conducted by Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), the Italian National Institute of Health, within the EU project HELLODOC. The activity aimed at training professionals to effectively manage the tele-rehabilitation service. ISS adapted the Moodle e-learning platform and implemented the problem-based learning (PBL) methodology. One clinical and one technical module were prepared by using traditional learning sources as well as interactive tools. Each module included 4 units; each unit was based on a 5-days cycle. The courses remained open from January to October 2006. Fifty percent of the registered students attended the courses. Traditional and interactive learning resources were equally used. Overall feedback was positive, unless for the amount of time requested for the study and the lack of an official certificate of attendance. Both modules are now in the process of being revised, improved and generalised, in order to be integrated into the ISS Rehabilitation website.

Community-based exercise for upper limb paresis: a controlled trial with telerehabilitation.

BACKGROUND: Arm paresis remains a major impairment after stroke despite the best conventional rehabilitation. Randomized, controlled trials of intensive exercise programs have demonstrated improvements in arm function for patients with chronic stroke. However, the gains achieved have been relatively modest for the large investments in patient and therapist time. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety, acceptance, adherence, and effectiveness of a community-based exercise program for upper limb paresis in patients with chronic stroke and the effects of telerehabilitation monitoring in kiosks distributed through the community. METHODS: Longitudinal cohort with geographic control group. The experimental group received devices needed for a home exercise program based on the Carr and Shepherd "Motor Learning Program" and were instructed to practice the exercises at least twice a week at the kiosk and at least 3 more days a week at home. The control group received usual care. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, patients in the experimental group demonstrated significant gains in arm function as measured by the Wolf Motor Function Test, 9-Hole Peg Test, Motricity Index, and Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire. The intervention received high satisfaction ratings and produced no adverse events. Only 30% of the subjects attended kiosks regularly. Outcomes for this group did not differ significantly from those who only practiced at home. CONCLUSIONS: Home- and community-based exercise for arm paresis is safe and effective. Telerehabilitation interventions will need additional enhancements to improve effectiveness. The optimal upper extremity exercise prescription poststroke remains to be established.