Hobbs’ participation in the Virtual RehabWeek 2021 has been such a success that they have been invited as a Guest Society to present at RehabWeek 2022 in Rotterdam. Hobbs plans to participate in several elements of the conference including poster presentations, a series of live workshops, keynote speakers and more.
The 2021 conference was streamed across 3 time zones worldwide and numerous contacts who attended the Hobbs session have been in touch to collaborate on technology product design and development, and to explore working together on research projects and clinical trials.
The focus of Hobbs’ participation was how an interdisciplinary team (Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech & Language Therapists and Psychologists) might use the same piece of neurotechnology in different ways, to work with the same patient on helping them to achieve their goals. The intention was to help clinicians and engineers see how the devices could be integrated into clinical practice and used by multiple therapists.
Hobbs showcased the company background and then presented the importance of the IDT (interdisciplinary team) approach, highlighting that neurotechnology is used with hands-on therapy for the integration of cognition, communication, motor skills and functional tasks.
A real patient then introduced himself and told his story in his own words. Will outlined his stroke, hospital admission and goals for therapy.
An interactive session followed, with Hobbs clinicians leading a host of breakout rooms for discussion between clinicians, researchers and technology developers. Feedback was collated on a live whiteboard.
Hobbs then presented Will’s actual rehabilitation journey with input from our specialist neurological occupational therapist, Laura Marriott highlighting the input from other therapists and the use of neurotechnology to mirror what tasks Will wanted to achieve at home.
A live treatment session was streamed with Will at Hobbs Rehabilitation Intensive Neurotherapy Centre in Bristol where a piece of neurotechnology was used to demonstrate how occupational therapy and physiotherapy input can work effectively to achieve real-life tasks.
Live Q & A rounded up the workshop and these were answered directly by Will, Alison Gomes Da Silva, (specialist neurological physiotherapist and clinical lead at Bristol) and Laura Marriott.
At Rotterdam, Hobbs plans to present the interactive educational platform as part of their MiNT (Masterclass in Neurotechnology) programme and will be unveiling more about this in the near future.