Lleida first connects patients and therapists in a gamified virtual environment for physical rehabilitation

• At this validation stage, the project will connect 30 patients with shoulder problems with their physiotherapists.
• This tool will allow remote sessions to be carried out through a virtual reality space where professionals will prepare exercises and instructions for patients to do them at home, without the need to travel to the centre.
• The pilot is part of the 5G Areas of Catalonia strategy, an initiative of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Mobile World Capital Barcelona and the i2CAT foundation, with Lleida City Council, the Official College of Doctors of Lleida, Clínica Mí NovAliança, Invelon and Electronic Gamesports as local partners of the project.

March 1, 2023

Today has been presented the pilot “Virtual physiotherapy: physical rehabilitation from virtual reality, gamification and metavers”, a project promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya, Mobile World Capital Barcelona and the i2CAT Foundation, which aims to connect physiotherapists and patients remotely and in real time.

The project is based on a clear premise: to make life easier for health professionals and patients who need regular rehabilitation sessions. Thanks to 5G technology, the two parties can be connected in real time without having to be in the same physical space. Virtual reality technology makes it possible to generate a virtual scenario from which to access the exercises that the physiotherapist has prescribed, along with the instructions and the different possibilities for carrying them out.

The proposal includes an element of ‘gamification’ to stimulate patients to do their best in a playful context. The better they perform the movements, the more virtual rewards they get. To measure the quality of the exercises, a system of metrics is used that can be consulted in real time by both patients and physiotherapists.

The pilot project is already working with 3 patients from the Clínica Mí NovAliança, and is expected to reach 30 patients with different pathologies related to the shoulder in the coming weeks. The aim is to be able to validate the technology with profiles of different ages and sexes.

The project was presented today at the MWCapital stand at MWC Barcelona 2023 by Eduard Martín, CIO and director of Smart Connectivity at Mobile World Capital Barcelona; Lluís Juncà, director general of Innovation, Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and Rosa Paradell, director of Innovation and Business Development for the public sector of the i2CAT Foundation. All three stressed the importance of connectivity for a more competitive and sustainable Catalonia, and how relevant and necessary it is to put technology at the service of society.

The local partners of the project – Lleida City Council, the Official College of Doctors of Lleida, Clínica Mí NovAliança, Invelon and Gamesports Electrònics – also took part in the presentation. Specifically, Marýama Sall, Councillor for People, Community and Agenda 2030 of the Lleida City Council, Dr. Ramon Mur, President of the Official College of Doctors of Lleida, and Dr. Xavier Caufapé, Director of the Lleida Medical Association, and Dr. Xavier Caufapé, President of the Lleida Medical Association, also took part in the presentation. Xavier Caufapé, territorial director of Clínica Mí NovAliança, highlighted the great social impact of this initiative; in addition to Marc Solé, co-founder and CTO of Invelon; and Noé Bosch, co-founder and CEO of Gamesports Electrónicos, who explained the details of the technology that has made this pilot possible.

5G PONENT AREA, A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT

This pilot joins the different ones promoted by Area 5G Ponent, which seek to boost and digitise sectors such as rural, livestock, agri-food, socio-health, commercial, logistics, industry and tourism. Thus, the 5G Poniendo Area, which has been possible thanks to the alliance between the Government of Catalonia, MWCapital, i2CAT Foundation and local partners Paeria de Lleida, Lleida Chamber of Commerce, Economic Transformation-Lleida Provincial Council and Telefónica, works to analyse the challenges and needs of these sectors and implement new products and services, based on 5G technology, that respond to them.