Cognitive rehabilitation of apraxia and action disorganisation syndrome

People who have had a stroke may experience neurological difficulties such as apraxia and action disorganisation syndrome (AADS). This can result in cognitive deficits which make it hard for the person to undertake every day tasks which they were previously able to perform automatically. Such difficulties can be so severe as to prevent people from leading independent lives. At present, most common IT systems for stroke rehabilitation focus on treating the physiological symptoms of stroke, such as muscle weakness, and are not appropriate for helping with cognitive impairments. In addition, they are typically based on robot and/or virtual reality platforms which are expensive and not always suitable for use at home.

The aim of this project is to develop a new Personal Healthcare System (PHS) for cognitive rehabilitation following stroke which will be be affordable, customisable and capable of delivering continuous cognitive rehabilitation at home, when it is needed. The proposed system plans to exploit intelligent tools and objects, portable and wearable devices as well as ambient systems to provide personalised cognitive rehabilitation at home for stroke patients with AADS symptoms.