power of attorney, a social network for patients with neurodegenerative diseases

A group of researchers from the University of Seville is developing the Procur@ project, an open platform to support the prevention and recovery of patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

Researchers from the University of Seville are creating a platform that will contribute to telecare and telerehabilitation of Parkinson's patients, Alzheimer's and acquired brain damage. This social network will also promote a virtual community that will put patients in contact with the different socio-health professionals involved and other users such as caregivers., friends and family. Named Procur@, an ambitious project is born that aims to develop a platform, including associated hardware and software aspects, with the generic objective of providing support to people who have cognitive diseases.

José Luis Sevillano, Robotics and Computer Technology researcher, responsible for the project at the University of Seville, has indicated: “It is expected that social networks focused on the rehabilitation of patients and their interaction with other patients, family and medical staff, "will be common in the future taking into account the popularization of the use of this type of networks and the necessary cost reduction in the health system.".

So, Procur@ will include a social network that will connect patients, caregivers and medical staff so that there is a fluid relationship of doubts, life habits tips, etc. The platform will also support therapeutic leisure, that is to say, will make available to users games or activities with a playful aspect that are aimed at performing exercises that reduce the evolution of their diseases in a pleasant and entertaining way with the support of PDA or mobile devices..

Some similar games already exist on the market, However, it is the first time that they intend to adapt them to make them accessible to these groups and to be able to analyze the results., what according to José Luis Sevillano “will be a source of new business and job creation”.

Social innovation spaces

The project, in which psychologists participate, pedagogues, doctors and IT, is being carried out by researchers from the Department of Computer Architecture and Technology of the University of Seville in collaboration with the University of Zaragoza, the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, user associations and several computer and health services companies.

“As it is a multidisciplinary consortium”, José Luis Sevillano explained, “we can be in contact with important companies that guarantee the future commercial success of the product and participate with user associations, “Hospitals and centers that contribute to making technological development useful for society”.

To achieve the proposed objectives, different Social Innovation Spaces have been designed. (ESdI), a new research ecosystem in which synergies between all the actors involved are exploited: researchers, companies and end users. “This methodology consists of several innovation cycles”, the researcher clarifies, “so that there are several interactions during the development of the project in which intermediate results are obtained, involving users in the design at all times, which allows us to obtain concrete results at intermediate points thanks to continuous feedback”.

Specifically, three ESdI have been created: and Parkinson’s, sponsored by the Parkinson's Association of Aragon, an Alzheimer's, sponsored by the Novaire center of Alicante and in Cerebrovascular Accident, articulated around the staff, patients and relatives of the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital in Seville.