“stapp one enables digital, evidence-based aftercare“ – Interview with UAS Academic Director Prof. Jakob Doppler, Msc.

Jakob Doppler © Martin Lifka Photography

On June 10, 2022, the Digital Healthcare Networking Event “build.well.being” takes place for the 6th time. As an innovative partner, stapp one will hold a workshop on 3D gait analysis and motion detection in conjunction with machine-learning methods. In an interview, the organizer of the event, UAS Prof. and Academic Director Digital Healthcare Jakob Doppler, talks about stapp one’s great potential for the future of digitalization in the healthcare sector.

Jakob Doppler is the Academic Director of the part-time study program Digital Healthcare at UAS St. Pölten – a study program for the future, so to speak: “People who join us learn to work on the future of healthcare in an interdisciplinary way.”

Doppler realized that there was no networking or exchange platform for people from applied health sciences, technology professions, patients and relatives so he brought the build.well.being event to life. “We’ve found that this area of interdisciplinary research and development in integrated digital healthcare can really only work when people design together, prototype solutions and then evaluate them,” Doppler said.

Digitization and technology in healthcare

Technology in healthcare is actually nothing new. However, according to Doppler all the existing solutions lack engagement with the end customer – the patient. What is also needed here is comprehensive digital preventive care, support and aftercare so that patients have all the information they need and helps them keep in touch with their doctors or therapists. It happens more and more often that patients use online second opinion services (abroad), for example, when it comes to diagnostic findings and where a second opinion counts. “We in Austria currently have hardly any framework for digitally integrated follow-up care. But that is the big goal. stapp one is one of the companies that has already started in this area. In rehabilitation their MedTech solution provides the possibility of continuous acquisition of sensor data such as gait-related parameters. Therapists are therefore not only dependent on subjective visual gait inspection with the naked eye. We need more approaches like this, and we are very proud that stappone is partnering with us to support our event.“

stapp one sensor soles as an important tool for the future

Jakob Doppler emphasizes how interesting and exciting stapp one is as a company, because the basic idea of sensor soles has always been a topic for clinical gait analysis. “In classic physiotherapy, there are procedures such as visual gait inspection with the naked eye. This kind of inspection works well in the clinical setting, but you have no possibility to quantify the subjective impressions. Our research has also shown that the evaluation of the gait pattern varies even among experts. Sensor-based soles, such as stapp one, give physiotherapists the possibility to support the gait assessment with actual measurements, such as pressure distribution and progression. These, in turn, can provide the patient with continuous feedback during therapy, for example, by a real-time sound recording of the gait pattern. „When it comes to the research we conduct at the University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten, the data obtained from thousands of patients can also be evaluated using machine-learning algorithms and visualization. With these semi-automated and evidence-based methods, a better outcome can be found, for example, in the rehabilitation of similar cases.” Jakob Doppler explains enthusiastically.

Versatile use

From Jakob Doppler’s point of view, the further application of the stapp one sensor soles is not only in rehabilitation, but also in prevention. “Every one of us would like to have an orthopedic insole that helps us in everyday sports or even provides support during normal walking.” But Doppler also mentions the application area of professional sport: “Measuring the optimal pressure distribution helps to train movement patterns, whether it’s snowboarding or playing tennis.”

Would you like to learn more about digital healthcare and stapp one sensor soles? Register now for the event build.well.being on June 10th live at the campus of the University of Applied Science St. Pölten or online on Youtube: https://buildwellbeing.fhstp.ac.at

Do you have any questions about the use of stapp one? Contact us! We are always at your disposal.

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