Publishable Summary
The Problem
During our research we found that there exist a number of problems in speech based therapy
The Accessibility of speech based therapies in remote areas is a huge problem in rural areas
Therapy is currently only accessible though speech therapists. Almost no automated solutions exist.
No global solutions available small solution providers, no big players
Face to face therapy sessions are time consuming and therefore costly and require travelling
Available Remote therapy technology is limited to Skype and other only basic utilities
The process is highly driven by manual labor and therefore suffers from quality fluctuations
Exploitation
The projects will address these problems through the development of a speech therapy portal, that allows patients to connect with doctors over an internet based solution. The solutions allows for the integration existing speech therapy tools as well as the development of new solutions.
Dissemination (Distribution)
The system will be distributed as a cloud based solution via online marketing in the respective target markets and countries. Interested entities in target markets (doctors, speech therapists, hospitals) can book the service online via web browser and pay through integrated payment services.
To achieve an online presence, the systems needs to be advertised through country specific websites in the respective languages. Interested customers will be driven to these websites through web marketing campaigns.
The pilot software is already in use and promoted by a leading German speech therapy institution, the “Kasseler Stuttering Therapy” (KST), and partnerships with other therapy providers in Europe are currently being set up. There also exist contacts to parties in Africa and Latin America that are interested in using the software.
A very successful market entrance in collaboration with the largest German health insurance (Techniker Krankenkasse) is also signed.
Conclusions
The conclusions from the project are
There is a need and a market for unattended therapy, i.e. without therapist but with automated solutions
The existing therapies require better quality
The availability in remote areas can be optimized with our internet based solution
The loss of time can be reduced by providing therapy on demand, i.e. reducing scheduling and travel times
Existing market players are highly interested in the solution
socio-economic impact
The project generates impact through better access to speech based therapies in remote areas and in low and medium resource settings.
It also reduces the costs of speech based therapies though automation, reduced scheduling efforts and elimination of travel times.
