
Overweight boys and girls improve their physical fitness and health thanks to active video games
3 June, 2022Call for research promotion at the San Jorge Hospital 2022
6 June, 2022- La app, which has already been tested on twenty users, monitors medical and emotional parameters, in addition to offering a care guide and recommendations
- This pioneering initiative is the result of the collaboration of the Translational Research in Digestive Pathology and Technological Systems in the field of Health groups at the IIS Aragón.
The development of new technologies has landed strongly in the health sector, also driven by the pandemic and the need to offer telecare. In this context, a very useful tool is born for the comprehensive control and daily monitoring of the health of liver transplant recipients in Aragon. It is a digital application, designed by researchers from the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), that patients can install on their mobile phone and that will monitor their evolution, in addition to becoming a source of valuable information to face this new stage. of their life, since it will offer them basic recommendations, advice to follow a healthy diet or keep a record of the symptoms and side effects that the medication produces. The computer program has already been tested in a pilot study with around twenty patients and will be launched soon, once it can be synchronized with intelligent electronic devices that collect the parameters of the physical exercise performed, with the aim of offering a more complete service to patients. the users.
The application is simple and measures not only medical parameters, but also the patient's emotional state. It is divided into six sections: 'How am I', where you record your mood changes, possible pain and your perception of your general quality of life; 'Vital signs', which reflects data such as temperature or heart rate; 'Physical exercise', where you can write down the activity you perform; 'Treatment', to be able to monitor good compliance, the prescribed medications and their dosage; 'Recommendations', with lifestyle tips through a video; and 'Frequently Asked Questions'. Likewise, the application presents an interface designed on the web where doctors can see the evolution of their patients, consult their records and analyze what factors are influencing their individual situation, whether positive or negative, and will even have a doctor's notification system. that alerts when something is not going well with the patient. It also has a forum where users can ask questions and interact with other patients.
The architects of this initiative are Trinidad Serrano, Sara Lorente and Luis Cortés, hepatologists specialized in liver transplants at the Lozano Blesa University Clinical Hospital and members of the Translational Research group in digestive pathology at the IIS Aragón; Raquel Lacuesta, doctor in Computer Engineering and researcher in the Technological Systems in the field of health group at IIS Aragón; Javier Navarro, developer of the app; and María Hernández, resident of the Clínico's Digestive Department. “The IIS Aragón has acted as a link because it has allowed us to take advantage of synergies and configure a multidisciplinary team to carry out this project, as well as seek financing,” says Serrano.
The idea arose from the interest of healthcare professionals in helping patients when they have to resume their lives once transplanted and from their confirmed need to feel accompanied on that path. “After experiencing an episode as relevant as a transplant, patients have to manage many emotions while internalizing a lot of new information. We thought that, instead of giving them instructions on a sheet of paper, it would be much more attractive to offer them the care guide they need through a modern, interactive digital tool with images,” argues Lorente. "The application does not replace in-person consultations, but it is a good complement with many advantages: it can reduce costs to the National Health System, eliminates geographical barriers by avoiding travel, reduces delays in care and reduces the readmission rate in the first months after the transplant, in addition to improving patient education in their pathology. It will be of great help in the future”, he considers.
For his part, Lacuesta highlights that this specific application is aimed at liver transplant recipients in terms of design and the information it offers, but it is applicable to other organs and diseases. “You have to see what pathology it is in each case and choose the appropriate parameters to be able to follow up,” he says.
About the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón)
The IIS Aragón is the Health Research Institute formed by the “Lozano Blesa” and “Miguel Servet” University Hospitals, Primary Health Care, the University of Zaragoza and the Aragonese Institute of Health Sciences. The objectives of the IIS Aragón are to bring together basic and applied, clinical and health services research; create a quality research, care and teaching environment that integrates health professionals, training specialists and postgraduate and undergraduate students, as well as constitute the ideal place for attracting talent and the location of large scientific-technological facilities.