ZURICH, February 2022
Hocoma is pleased to announce that the SwissNeuroRehab Flagship project, in which we partner with other industry leaders, university hospitals, research centers, neurorehabilitation clinic, will be supported by funding from the Swiss innovation agency Innosuisse. The SwissNeuroRehab project aims at developing and evaluating a novel model of neurorehabilitation along the continuum of care, from the hospital to home, by combining the best available approaches for neurorehabilitation with new digital and technological methods to create innovative and efficient therapeutic programs tailored to the individual needs of patients and their families. The project successfully competed against 84 other submissions and will be financed by Innosuisse and the implementation partners with 11.1 MCHF over 5 years.
Every year, more than 30 million people suffer a new traumatic brain injury and more than 13 million from a new stroke. Often, the acquired brain injuries have a significant detrimental effect on everyday function and life and require intensive neurorehabilitation. Neurorehabilitation is provided by multidisciplinary teams of physical, occupational and speech therapists, as well as neuropsychologists, nurses and medical doctors. Robotic devices, including Hocoma’s Erigo®, Lokomat®, Andago®, Armeo®Power, Armeo®Spring, and Armeo®Senso are used very effectively to reach a high dose of neurorehabilitative training in every stage of the patients’ recovery journey. However today, the rehabilitation programs often lack continuation across the different care phases (inpatient, outpatient and home), due to organizational and reimbursement issues. This contrasts with the scientific evidence and international guidelines underlining the fundamental value of intensity and frequency of tailored rehabilitation programs along the continuum of care for maximizing patients’ recovery.
To address this challenge, an unprecedented consortium within the neurorehabilitation landscape in Switzerland has been initiated and coordinated by the CHUV in Lausanne, bringing together: four university hospitals (Bern, Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich), collaborating with key rehabilitation clinics (the SUVA Bellikon, the SUVA Clinic romande de réadapation Sion, Lavigny Hospital, Valens Clinics and RehaKlinik Zihlschlacht); clinics’ association (Plateforme-Reha); inpatients (Cereneo center for Neurology and Rehabilitation, in collaboration with Zurich University Hospital) and outpatient (Swiss Rehabilitation, Physio Clinics, and EMS Le Marronier) clinical providers; the two federal technical schools EPFL and ETHZ; the Universities of Lausanne, Geneva and Bern, the University of Applied Science of Western Switzerland (HES-SO) and the School of Engineering and Management of the Canton Vaud; leading companies in neurotechnology (Hocoma, Lambda, MyoSwiss, Onward) and digital therapies (MindMaze) for neurorehabilitation; industrial partners working on digital solutions for data management and protection (CARA and Pryv); educational providers for healthcare professionals (Espace Compétences) and patients (Medicol).
Together, the SwissNeuroRehab consortium will develop and validate an effective and efficient model of neurorehabilitation along the continuum of care in Switzerland. A patient-centered model will specify the clinical, operational and economic needs to treat physical and cognitive deficits after stroke, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. State-of-the-art, evidence-based therapeutic programs integrating digital therapeutics and neurotechnology will be validated and implemented into the clinical routine through interdisciplinary cooperation between researchers, clinicians and the industry. An inter-cantonal economic analysis will propose a reimbursement system for the new model of neurorehabilitation. Novel educational curricula will be created for healthcare professionals, decision makers, patients and caregivers. The model will offer a long-term solution for the Swiss society to address the challenges due to the increasing prevalence of neurological disorders in the ageing society.
