7th January 2022: St Ives, Cambridgeshire, UK
Aseptika, a Cambridge-based healthcare business, announces the publication of results of using its Active+me REMOTE system to support Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) at the start of the pandemic.
During the COVID-19 enforced lockdown, a pilot of the Active+me REMOTE service was used at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge with 46 patients, which quickly adapted to help patients keep up their exercise and manage their recovery thanks to funding from Innovate UK and support from Eastern AHSN. As part of Accelerator programme at Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC), with support from the Yorkshire and Humber AHSN (YH AHSN), results were independently analysed by an AWRC senior research fellow, Dr Simon Nichols and published in the BMC Health Services journal¹.
Key results:
• Patient Activation Measure (PAM) score increased from 65.5 to 70.2, indicating a potential reduction in the risk of future admission to hospital and use of healthcare services.
• PAM scores of the High-Risk patients showed the greatest increase, indicating the greatest benefit and positive impact for this group.
• Completion of CR with Active+me REMOTE was 93.4% (in-person completion rate 77% nationally).
• Resting Systolic blood pressure decreased from 125mmHg to 119mmHg.
• Waistlines decreased from 92.8cm to 85.cm.
• Self-reported levels of physical activity increased from 1557.5 MET-minutes to 33632.2 MET-minutes.
• Qualitative interviewing showed that Active+me REMOTE was acceptable to both patients and NHS Cardiac Rehabilitation professionals.
The publication of this research is timely, as COVID-19 once again has a negative impact on rehabilitation services. The British Heart Foundation’s National Audit of Cardiac Rehabilitation report² (December 2021) recommends that rehabilitation services actively promote comprehensive home-based, group-based and hybrid versions of CR (using a mixture of in-person and technology-assisted delivery methods).
References
1. Frith G, Carver K, Curry S, et al. Changes in patient activation following cardiac rehabilitation using the Active+me digital healthcare platform during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cohort evaluation. BMC Health Services Research. 2021 Dec;21(1):1363. DOI: 10.1186/s12913-021-07363-7. PMID: 34952575.
2. British Heart Foundation., (2021). The National Audit of Cardiac Rehabilitation: quality and outcomes report 2021 [online]. British Heart Foundation. Available here.
Aseptika Ltd www.activ8rlives.com
Aseptika Ltd began developing Activ8rlives in 2010 and is currently developing its fourth generation of integrated systems, which can be used by consumers and their healthcare service providers using a wide range of platforms or devices to better enable effective and easy self-monitoring. Incorporating sensors and monitors ranging from consumer accessories to in vitro diagnostics (IVDs). Our focus is: respiratory and cardiovascular disease, paediatric asthma, cancer, promoting physical activity and weight management. Aseptika Limited has been certified by BSI to ISO 13485:2016 under certificate number MD691414. Active+me REMOTE has been certified as complying with the NHS Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (December 2021).
About Eastern AHSN (Academic Health Science Network) www.eahsn.org
Eastern AHSN is part of a national network of AHSNs established by the NHS to convene all partners in the health sector, develop and deliver innovative care. Our purpose is to turn great ideas into positive health impact.
We believe that health is improved by great ideas, but great ideas only make an impact when they are put into practice. Our health is too important to leave change to chance.
Citizens, academia, health services and industry will achieve more working together than they will in isolation. Our job is to make this happen and we do this by helping innovators navigate complex systems, generate value propositions and convene stakeholders to overcome challenges together.
The Eastern region is home to some of the greatest science and the most brilliant health and care practitioners in the world. We want our region to benefit from both, creating better health outcomes and more prosperity.
We are ambitious for patients and committed to applying evidence to make change happen.
AWRC Wellbeing Accelerator www.shu.ac.uk/advanced-wellbeing-research-centre/accelerator/startups/aseptika
The AWRC Wellbeing Accelerator is an R&D-focused programme that supports pre-revenue and early-stage companies developing products or services with health and wellbeing applications that align with the AWRCs impact themes.
The programme is accessed via a competitive application process and provides the accepted cohort with a range of valuable support to help them get their innovation closer to market and/or enter new markets.
Based in Sheffield Hallam’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, participants have access to world-class R&D capabilities to carry out design and rapid prototyping, through to precision engineering of prototype components.
Innovate UK www.innovateuk.ukri.org
Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas.
We connect businesses to the partners, customers and investors that can help them turn ideas into commercially successful products and services and business growth.
We fund business and research collaborations to accelerate innovation and drive business investment into R&D. Our support is available to businesses across all economic sectors, value chains and UK regions.
Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation.