Innovative COPD CityVerve project takes shape
It’s a couple of months since we last spoke with Julie Harrison, CityVerve Project Lead for the Health and Social Care Theme.
Since then we’ve been busy building our CityVerve team and refining our proposals…
Now, a project team comprising researchers from Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT), University Hospital of South Manchester (UHSM) and The University of Manchester (UoM) has been established to deliver the CityVerve chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) research project.
The COPD research study will investigate whether the Internet of Things network (sensors both inside and outside the home) can provide information to patients and clinicians to support and enable a more active and social lifestyle and possibly improve self-management of their disease.
Bringing extensive clinical experience, Consultants Professor Jørgen Vestbo (UHSM/UoM) and Dr Binita Kane (UHSM) and Lead COPD Physiotherapist Shane O’Reilly (CMFT) join Julie Harrison (CMFT), CityVerve Project Lead for the Health and Social Care Theme.
UoM colleagues who are providing essential informatics expertise to the project team are: Professor Chris Taylor, Professor Tjeerd Van Staa and Carmel Dickson. The project is overseen by Keith Chantler (CMFT), CityVerve Lead for the Health and Social Care Theme.
(L-R) Professor Vestbo, Dr Kane, Shane O’Reilly and Julie Harrison
(L-R) Professor Taylor, Professor Van Staa, Carmel Dickson and Keith Chantler
The team is also currently advertising for a Clinical Research Fellow (further information is available from Julie.Harrison@cmft.nhs.uk) and a lead GP to champion the project.
Design of the research study (protocol) as well as development of a second stage project plan and metrics to evaluate the project are currently underway. Key priorities over the coming months are applying for ethics committee approval of the protocol and selecting the sensor technology for the project, working with delivery partners Smart Gateways and Satsafe.
There will be opportunities for staff, patients and other members of the public to get involved with the CityVerve programme over the next couple of years.
What is the Internet of Things?
IoT is a term used to describe how multiple physical devices or objects – even people – can be connected across a network. Thanks to embedded software and sensors, these connected objects – be they lights, buses or entire buildings – can collect and exchange data. Where this gets really exciting is once you turn this data into insight that helps us to do things more easily, quickly or more effectively.
What is CityVerve?
The aim of CityVerve is to show how the large-scale deployment of IoT can benefit citizens by offering environmental improvements, economic opportunities, and more efficient and effective delivery of services such as transport, healthcare and energy.
CMFT has overall responsibility for delivering on the Health and Social Care Theme of the CityVerve programme and also the chronic condition management research study that falls under this theme.
