PhD Study : Intelligent Mobility Aids to Promote Physical Activity in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Summary

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most frequent cause of physical disability among children. People with CP experience disordered posture and movement that in turn causes limitations in activities (e.g. walking). This can lead to physical inactivity, increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and limited participation and social integration in the home and community. Rehabilitative and assistive devices, can help restore or replace the loss of activity caused by a disability such as CP. Though approximately 70% of interventions for children with CP have low or inconclusive evidence supporting their effectiveness. As assistive devices (such as wheelchairs and walking frames) form a large part of standard care, a systematic, objective and disciplined approach to measuring clinical outcomes is needed when prescribing them.

Whilst there exists a number of technologies to measure human activity, the application of these technologies with a CP population has been vastly under-researched. This is potentially due to benefits, such as independent mobility being easily observable, yet difficult to objectively quantify outside of the clinical environment. Simple clinical tests allow for a quick overview of a patient’s condition, however, do not afford more in-depth evaluation of individual impairments and may not objectively capture changes over time. Advances in technology, coupled with improvements in data analytics, provides an opportunity to gain an unprecedented insight into how children with CP use these devices and perhaps encourage them to more actively engage through the application of gamification and behavioural change techniques.

The successful integration of intelligent technology within assistive devices, requires a multidisciplinary mix of skills in electronics, computing and digital product design combined with clinical knowledge of the condition as well as strategies for the promotion of physical activity.

This project will investigate the use of emerging sensor technology, integrated within mobility aids, to better understand physical activity behaviours in children with CP. The successful candidate will work with an established research team from technical, clinical and industrial backgrounds to understand the needs of these children and to develop novel sensing solutions to objectively measure and promote physical activity in children with CP.

The project has the following research objectives:

*To objectively measure physical activity in Children with CP through the use of use wearable and unobtrusive sensing technologies (accelerometers, pressure insoles, EMG).

*To evaluate the effectiveness of existing and novel mobility aids in a clinical setting.

*Apply data analytics to collected data to extract meaningful clinically relevant metrics from sensor data.

*To investigate the needs of Children with CP to understand barriers to physical activity through qualitative approaches.

*To develop novel technology-based solutions to increase physical activity through gamification and behaviour change techniques.

This project builds upon an existing collaboration between the School of Computing at Ulster University and James Leckey Design and is aligned with the research aims of the Connected Health Innovation Centre (CHIC). The collaboration has already led to the development of a new line of technology enhanced mobility aids (Leckey Connect). This collaboration won the Ulster University, Outstanding Research Partnership of the Year Award 2019.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

• Sound understanding of subject area as evidenced by a comprehensive research proposal

Desirable Criteria

If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.

• Publications record appropriate to career stage
• A comprehensive and articulate personal statement
• Applicants will be shortlisted if they have an average of 75% or greater in a first (honours) degree (or a GPA of 8.75/10). For applicants with a first degree average in the range of 70% to 74% (GPA 3.3): If they are undertaking an Masters, then the average of their first degree marks and their Masters marks will be used for shortlisting.

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Department for the Economy (DFE)

The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).

This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.

• Candidates with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, who also satisfy a three year residency requirement in the UK prior to the start of the course for which a Studentship is held MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance.
• Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationals who satisfy three years’ residency in the UK prior to the start of the course MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance (ROI nationals don’t need to have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify).
• Other non-ROI EU applicants are ‘International’ are not eligible for this source of funding.
• Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living

The successful candidate will benefit from access to specialist equipment and facilities manufactured and supplied by James Leckey Design. This collaborative project enables free access to a range of supportive mobility aids and innovative products produced by the internationally renowned company; including support from multi-disciplinary clinicians and allied health professionals.