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Rehabilitaion Assistive and Restorative Technologies - RART
Creating technology to support people to live independently
Let's work togetherStarworks - Innovations for young people in prosthetics
Key Aims:
Prosthetics for children are not fit for purpose. Children have extremely different needs and wants to adults, however prosthetics do not reflect this. The Starworks network was established to bring children and their families together with key opinion leaders from the NHS, industry, clinical academia and leading National Research Centres early in the development of child prosthetics.
Impact:
The Starworks Network was originally funded via the UK government and then subsequently through NIHR infrastructure funding, led by Devices for Dignity. Centred around the needs of families workshops were held with stakeholders to prioritise their needs and wants. This helped to encourage a balance between a ‘clinical pull’ and a ‘technical push’ to create an energetic environment in which to innovate and partner with industry whilst having children’s desires at the heart of their work.
Read morePatient and Care-partner Needs
- People living with disabling long term conditions require technologies responsive to their needs to live with autonomy and dignity
- In the UK, 1 in 6 people rely on rehabilitation, assistive or restorative technologies (RART) to live independently
- Interrelated long term (iLTC) conditions have a multiplier effect, impacting people’s participation in family life and the workplace
Our Vision
- RART, co-designed by people living with disability, carers, healthcare professionals and engineers can reduce the impact of iLTC, unlock previously untapped abilities, and enhance people’s societal participation
- Benefits further extend across the health and social care economy as more people can live independently
Our Approach
- Engage with people living with iLTC, carers and representatives of support organisations, from inception to dissemination, in a comprehensive suite of patient, social care, user and public involvement, engagement and participation activities
- Work with industry to bridge the evidence gap
- Through the development of RART technologies:
- Enabling people with inter-related long-term condition(iLTC) to live in their place of residence/home and community.
- Facilitate mobility, communication, activated of daily living and many other factors using technology co-designed with the end user in mind
