The UK Hackathon took place on July 4th and 5th at the Brunel University London, and it was a great success thanks to the energy of the participants and the input of the jury.
The event, organized in collaboration with the Royal Free London NHS Trust and Teesside University, is part of the VR4REHAB Hackathons taking place across Europe to bring together developers in VR and digital technology with clinical experts, academics and researchers from the various partners, in order to find new VR-solutions for rehabilitation and health care.
The UK Hackathon consisted in two days of intense hacking, during which the participants had the opportunity to work with stakeholders: young people with disabilities and their families. Health care professionals, developers and patients worked in small groups, analyzing issues and challenges faced in treating various health problems, such as managing pain, controlling movement and encouraging physical and social activity.
During the two-day workshop, each team designed a concept for rehabilitation with Virtual Reality tools and presented it to the jury on the last day of the Hackathon. Members of the jury were: Prof Priscilla Harries, Occupational Therapist with a research background to include on-line training resources and clinical trials, currently Head of Department of Clinical Sciences at Brunel University; Rebecca Todd of Longwall Ventures, who joined the jury as a Venture Capitalist with an interest in VR; David Parry of SEHTA; and Ruby Duku, Stakeholder who participated in some #AugmentedReality studies using the Elements System.
The group selected by the jury has proposed a concept concerning interactive simulation for severe upper limb disability. The winners have now the possibility to develop their idea in a prototype: they will be invited back to develop prototypes for the next stage of the project, the Game Jams. Can’t wait to see the results!
