Themes

Focusing on patients’ needs across the life-course, rather than specific clinical conditions, cuts through narrow-focused silos, optimising synergies and creating solutions with wider applications. Embedded in the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC), RehabHRC will extend its scope to include all settings; acute, primary care, residential and social care.

• In Childhood, rehabilitation is crucial for children helping them participate in play, learning, return to sport and transition into adult life.
  Theme leads: Prof Joseph Manning OBE and Prof Jane Coad.
• Working age people need help returning to work after injury or trauma; or regain the capacity to socialise, play sport and live independently.
  Theme leads: Prof Kathryn Radford and Dr Vicky Booth.
• Older age people may need support to regain the ability to live independently, cope with degenerative conditions and participate in activities.
  Theme leads: Prof Opinder Sahota and Dr Katie Robinson.

Cross-cutting themes allow HealthTech companies access to world-leading experts in technologies that:

• Enable participation - many patients cannot even start rehab due to their environment and technology can play a key role e.g., assistive robotics allow people to continue undertaking daily functions at home.
  Theme leads: Professor Praminda Caleb-Solly and Dr Andrew Capel.
• Support rehabilitation - better technologies can help restore body function and enhance rehab, e.g. custom-fitting and personal implants.
  Theme leads: Professor Richard Bibb and Professor Donal McNally.
• Evaluate performance - digital technology helps monitor how well our innovations work, and how patients experience them.
  Theme leads: Dr Dale Esliger and Professor Holly Blake.

The innovation funnel feeds technologies into RehabHRC, taking ideas from technology push and clinical pull, identifying and capturing the most promising technologies for potential RehabHRC support.

Theme leads: Professor Ruth Goodridge and Mrs Suzanne Horobin.