CATCH outcomes from the AAATE conference

CATCH Hosted the AAATE Congress earlier this year which saw almost 400 delegates from a range of academic disciplines, health and social care professionals, policy makers, and industry come together to discuss challenges from around the world where Assistive Technology could deliver benefits to the increasing population of people with disabilities and the ageing society.


The breadth of capacity that CATCH has to engage in Research and Development was well illustrated by the articles published in the Conference proceedings

Harnessing the Power of Technology to Improve Lives, P.Cudd and L. de Witte (Eds), IOS Press, 2017, doi:10.3233/978-1-61499-798-6-1

There were 19 article from CATCH researchers spanning users who have communication, cognitive, static, degenerative, mental health, multiple, and profound impairments involving technologies and their use that spans EMG switches, touch screens, the internet, wearables, apps and robots.

The reported work examined methods, technology innovation and evaluation and service implementation.

There was some focus on addressing support for older people through the use of assistive technology for example for those with dementia or who would benefit from the use of robots to support independent living. 

The 19 articles from CATCH are

• Comparing Recent Reviews About Touchscreens for Dementia with Lessons Learnt from the Field, Yvonne SCHIKHOF, Marleen GOUMANS, Phil JODDRELL and Arlene ASTELL, Pages 1 – 4
• Reconnecting People with Dementia by Using the Interactive Instrument CRDL, Lisanne TEUNISSEN, Tom LUYTEN and Luc de WITTE, Pages 9 – 15
• Independent Living Functions for the Elderly (IN-LIFE): Supporting Communication in Dementia, Sarah.K.SMITH and Arlene.J.ASTELL, Pages 16-22
• Observing Remote Prescription of AT, Peter CUDD, Aejaz ZAHID and Marcus FRIDAY, Pages 94-97
• Access Visits sing Video Communication, Suvodeep MAZUMDAR, Fabio CIRAVEGNA, Neil IRESON, Jennifer READ, Emma SIMPSON and Peter CUDD, Pages 102-110
• Remote Health Care Provision in Care Homes, Louise NEWBOULD, Gail MOUNTAIN, Mark HAWLEY, and Steve ARISS, Pages 148-151
• Smart Clothing for Falls Protection and Detection: User-Centred Co-Design and Feasibility Study, Katherine EASTON, Thomas BURTON, Steven ARISS, Mike BRADBURN and Mark HAWLEY, Pages 152-159
• Cloud- based Speech Technology for Assistive Technology Applications (CloudCAST), Stuart CUNNINGHAM, Phil GREEN, Heidi CHRISTENSEN, José Joaquín ATRIA, Andre ́ COY, Massimiliano MALAVASI, Lorenzo DESIDERI, and Frank RUDZICZ, Pages 322-329
• The Language and Communication Characteristics of Communication Aids – Systematic Review, Simon JUDGE, Nicola RANDALL, Yvonne LYNCH, Stuart MEREDITH, Liz MOULAM, Janice MURRAY, Juliet GOLDBART, Pages 347-350
• The Hollybank Challenges: AT for People with Profound Disabilities, Pam KING, Kim LUDI, Deb MORTIMER and Stephen POTTER, Pages :351-354
• Technology for Early Detection of Depression and Anxiety in Older People, Jacob A. ANDREWS, Arlene J. ASTELL, Laura J.E. BROWN, Robert F.HARRISON and Mark S. HAWLEY, Pages 374 – 380
• A User-Centred Approach Exploring the Potential of a Novel EMG Switch for Control of Assistive Technology, Simon JUDGE, Nasrin NASR, Mark HAWLEY, Pages 381 – 384
• Providing Sources of Self-Efficacy Through Technology Enhanced Post-Stroke Rehabilitation in the Home, Jack PARKER and Susan MAWSON, Pages 401 – 408
• Robots for Elderly Care: Their Level of Social Interactions and the Targeted End User, Sandra BEDAF and Luc de WITTE, Pages 472 – 478
• Introducing ZORA to Children with Severe Physical Disabilities, Renée van den HEUVEL, Monique LEXIS, and Luc de WITTE, Pages 510-516
• Evaluation of Dynamic Arm Supports in Real Life Environments, L.A. van der Heidea, U. Roentgen, L. de Witte, Pages 517 – 522
• IntelliTable: Inclusively-Designed Furniture with Robotic Capabilities, Tony J PRESCOTT, Sebastian CONRAN, Ben MITCHINSON, and Peter CUDD, Pages 565 – 572
• Involving Users in the Evaluation of Apps for Specific Health Conditions, Lauren POWELL, Phil JODDRELL and Dr Jack PARKER, Pages 646 – 653
• Assessing Gait Impairments Based on Auto- ncoded Patterns of Mahalanobis Distances from Consecutive Steps, Mario MUÑOZ-ORGANERO, Richard DAVIES and Sue MAWSON, Pages 733 – 740