The project will develop a patient-centred digital healthcare support infrastructure that is able to integrate and coordinate data and capabilities from both automated sensing and the human ‘circles of support’ ranging from medical professionals, care workers, community support and relatives. During the course of the project we will extend our understanding of how circles of support are created, coordinated and sustained.
A host of new smart devices now make it feasible for people to be monitored by doctors while recovering in their homes. Devices range from wearable technology which measures indicators such as heart rate and temperature, to home sensors recording patient activities, to automated carer management systems. The project’s key challenge is integrating technology with these circles of support, comprising a wide range of people with very different relationships to the patient, levels of medical expertise and technological competence, who all need to share information with one another.