Engineering A Novel Mobile Assistive Technology to Improve Quality of Life, Independence and Medical Condition Management in Individuals with Healthca

Personal mobile technologies (e.g., smartphones, wearable technology, etc.) have significant potential to be used effectively as assistive devices to improve the quality of life for individuals with health-related needs. This can range from self-tracking systems designed to support behaviour change based on information users collect about themselves through to rehabilitative technology designed to support users in regaining independence following a significant health event. This emerging field is still in its infancy, with scope for significant contribution to scientific knowledge yet to be realised in terms of design and evaluation methodological know-how as well as longitudinal evidence of the efficacy of the use of such technologies in practice.

The aim of this PhD project is, therefore, to design, develop and evaluate a novel mobile assistive technology that has the potential to significantly and positively impact the quality of life, independence and healthcare management capabilities of individuals with special or healthcare-related needs in the field of mental health. In so doing, it will contribute to the emerging field of engineering and health as well as to expanding know-how in the field of human-centred design, notably in terms of adaptive methodologies for designing and evaluating with atypical user groups. The key objective of this project is that it will benefit citizens within the chosen community of study (who it can be argued represent a marginalised community of use), contributing to an improved quality of life by enhancing their independence and maximising the benefit - in a healthcare context - to the individual of the vast quantities of data that can be collected/generated via the use of pervasive, mobile technologies.