How do we make rehabilitation sustainable and future proof? During the networking event of the Flagship Convergence Human Mobility Center, researchers, medical professionals, innovators, and health insurers gathered to explore this question. ‘It’s difficult, but possible.’

‘The healthcare system is heading for gridlock. If we continue like this, we won’t have enough people to help everyone in the future,’ says PhD candidate Karlijn te Boekhorst from the Convergence Human Mobility Center. ‘Technology and innovation are seen as the solution, but implementation doesn’t happen without hiccups.’

‘Innovation, from idea to market’, was therefore the central focus of the networking event. Experts from various fields presented their findings. Karlijn recently published an article on the challenges of implementing technology for home rehabilitation after a stroke. ‘The development and implementation of rehabilitation technology often resembles a relay race, the process, starts with the researcher, is then handed over to the (commercial) developer, followed by the rehabilitation center, and then to the patient. That doesn’t work smoothly. We need to sit down together from the very beginning.’ Flagship lead Gerard Ribbers adds: ‘Innovation happens through co-creation. That process is difficult, but possible.’

An example of this is the innovations that Bart Horstman, junior researcher at the Flagship and chair of the event, contributed to: a hand trainer that makes hand rehabilitation easy and fun through gamification, and a robot ball that encourages movement in an accessible way.

Bart: ‘There are long waiting lists for rehabilitation after a stroke, while exercise is crucial at that stage. With an aging population, the number of patients is only increasing, while the influx of new staff is not keeping pace. The hand trainer and robot ball are simple, low-cost solutions that people can use at home. But what I’ve also learned is that a tech push does not work. Collaboration is key.’

That’s also what Karlijn concluded in her research: ‘Current policy doesn’t really encourage collaboration. Successful implementation requires coordination, not  only between healthcare and science, but also with health insurers and the government. They create the frameworks we work in. For example, the government decides what is covered under the basic insurance package.’  Gerard shares his perspective as a clinician: ‘We will never achieve healthcare innovation unless it is supported by multiple parties.’

The panel discussion at the end of the day made it clear that pointing fingers at a single party won’t help—everyone needs to contribute. Healthcare innovation turns out to be a complex puzzle to solve. Gerard: ‘An event like today, where all parties come together, is a first step.’