Innovation and research
Innovation and research

Improving health and wellbeing through robotic technology - CCCU

22 Apr 2019

Canterbury Christ Church University is proud to be a partner for the ADAPT project (Assistive Devices for empowering disAbled People through robotic Technologies).

The project, which began in 2017 and will run until the end of 2020, aims to develop technological innovations for the welfare, quality of life, well-being, home care and independent living of people with severe disabilities. It also provides training for healthcare professionals in the use of Assistive Technology (AT) solutions.

ADAPT is part of the Interreg VA France (Channel) England Programme and is led by IRSEEM - Embedded Electronic Systems Research Institute. There are sixteen institutional partners collaborating on the project including universities in France and the UK.

The university is the lead partner for the training of health care professionals in assistive technologies.  Christ Church researchers will design and conduct a survey of health professionals’ current knowledge and attitudes towards assistive technologies and develop training materials and sessions to enable them to engage more effectively with the AT applications developed through the project.

The team will also contribute to several other work packages within the project, including robotics and virtual reality applications for electronic powered wheelchairs. They will be providing medical specialist expertise in orthopaedics and postural care for disabled users and bringing expertise in assessing the role of assistive technologies in developing more effective children's occupational therapy services. The university’s strong partnerships with healthcare providers, service users and key stakeholders in the area will also be drawn upon to explore the impact of technology transfer.