TECH
Changing the game for stroke survivors H av i n g b e e n i n the planning for t wo d e c a d e s , e X R t Intelligent Healthcare has brought new and cutting-edge options t o t h e m a r ke t f o r s t r o ke rehabilitation, bringing g a m i f i e d p hys i o t h e r a py together with AI to create better insight into remote rehab than eve r b e f o r e
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NR Times meets CEO Dominic Holmes to learn more about the difference it is set to make to stroke survivors in their ongoing recovery “The research behind this dates back 20 years we were waiting for the hardware technology to catch up” For many years, researchers at Ulster University have investigated stroke rehabilitation and the potential of digital, game-based technology in supporting recovery. But while the research was there, it is only more recently that the required hardware technology has entered the marketplace. Through the launch of ReNeuro by eXRt Intelligent Healthcare, which brings together the latest cutting-edge gaming development with now readily-available wireless VR headset technology, the game is being changed for stroke survivors. With its range of in-house developed games, all geared around rehab, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to determine whether rehabilitation is effective in more detail than ever before, ReNeuro has already demonstrated its efficacy with a patient trial, showing the potential of remote rehab in times prior to the pandemic - before it had become widely known or accepted within healthcare. Now making inroads into the NHS and other healthcare providers, with plans for global expansion thereafter, eXRt is helping to up the ante for stroke rehabilitation, while increasing
the options in home-based therapy. “We believe we have a role within the care pathway, which is going to make the transition from clinical to home rehabilitation a lot easier, and rehab at home a lot better to engage with. We think this brings something very new for patients, and for the NHS and healthcare,” says CEO Dr Dominic Holmes. From the initial research from Ulster, including being the focus of Dr Holmes’ PhD, it was established that gaming as a form of rehabilitation could hold significant potential for improving patient rehabilitation - but how to achieve that with the technology of the day was another challenge. “Back then, the technology was clunky, heavy, it wasn’t suitable for patients. But we managed to get a lot of good data research, so we knew what we wanted to do. When technology started to catch up, that’s when we could really move forward,” says Dr Holmes. “We were starting to realise that the problems for patients were two-fold. Firstly, they weren’t getting enough physiotherapy, NHS departments were overstretched even before COVID, and it has become worse over the years. But also, that some patients weren’t engaging enough. “Gaming has become one of the biggest entertainment industries, so we thought, why not engage people in that way? By using gaming, we can let them have fun while doing their physiotherapy.”
