Big data and mobile technology are helping stroke patients engage in therapy at home, leading to better outcomes, according to a new study by Constant Therapy, provider of a customised brain rehabilitation software program.
The company’s analysis of more than 20 million therapy sessions completed by users on its mobile platform showed that stroke patients who engage in at-home therapy receive more therapy and experience greater improvement in both cognitive and speech accuracy and processing speed during their recovery.
What’s more, that same data can be used by speech-language pathologists and other healthcare clinicians to understand and predict what brain therapy exercises will be most effective for individual stroke patients.
As patients go through each therapy session at home, using an iPad, Android or Kindle tablet device, Constant Therapy’s advanced analytics engine analyses their performance and adjusts the next session based on their specific performance and needs. This can, for example, help patients advance through a series of more challenging exercises to help improve memory, attention and speaking.
“Combining big data and mobile technology allows us to collect more and better data throughout the rehabilitation process than was ever possible before,” said Keith Cooper, chief executive of Constant Therapy. “The more data we collect, the better our algorithms become and the more we can recommend and deliver precision medicine. It’s really the dream of personalised healthcare.”
Constant Therapy’s study revealed that:
Accuracy in language and cognitive exercises improved 15% in individuals with severe impairments by completing 100 exercises, and 40% for those completing 500 or more of the same exercises.
Processing speed in language and cognitive exercises improved more than 20% with 100 items completed, and over 80% after patients completed more than 500 exercises.
Stroke survivors who engage in at-home therapy receive five times more therapy than patients receiving in-clinic therapy alone.
