The Institute of Rehabilitation at Jamk University of Applied Sciences has operated for years in the international RDI field. The development of digital rehabilitation is at the Institute's spearhead and a cross-cutting theme in research, development and innovation activities.
"The WHO estimates that there are 2.4 billion people in the world who would benefit from rehabilitation. In addition, as the population ages, the number is projected to increase further. Digital priority should be viewed as a possible solution to the globally growing rehabilitation debt," says Kari-Pekka Murtonen, Chief Specialist in International Affairs at the Institute of Rehabilitation.
Digital rehabilitation is an umbrella term that includes, for example, various remote rehabilitation solutions, messaging services and robotic or artificial intelligence-assisted technologies that improve the accessibility of rehabilitation services. Like traditional rehabilitation, digital rehabilitation aims to optimise people's functional capacity and improve participation and interaction in society.
Digital primacy, on the other hand, means that these tools, applications and technologies would be utilised in rehabilitation processes and practices, either primarily or mainly.
Global Digital Rehabilitation Summit 2024
As part of the international work, the Rehabilitation Institute together with its partners is organising the Global Digital Rehabilitation Summit for the first time.
"The event is part of our broader goal to promote new rehabilitation innovations and research-based practices globally. That is why we wanted to bring together researchers, technology developers, rehabilitation and healthcare professionals as well as service users to share their views and advances in the field of digital rehabilitation," Murtonen explains.
The hybrid event will be held simultaneously on 7.11.2024 live in three countries (Jyväskylä - Finland, Kigali - Rwanda and Yogyakarta - Indonesia) and online.
The speakers at the event will be Päivi Sillanaukee, Programme Director at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Anthony Duttine, Technical Lead responsible for rehabilitation at the WHO, Michel Landry, President of the World Physiotherapy, Francois Uwinkindi , Director of the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases at the Rwandan Ministry of Health, and Principal Researcher Katariina Korniloff and Kari-Pekka Murtonen from Jamk.
The day's programme includes twelve presentations by international researchers and experts from four continents. In addition, the participants will also get to know digital rehabilitation solutions in practice in Finland and Rwanda, and outline the future prospects of digital rehabilitation through workshops.
The full programme can be found via this link on the event website.
