The RELIEF project is approaching the end of its 3rd phase – the field testing. During this phase, the two ICT solutions that were developed in Phase 1 and 2 of the PCP process are being tested in clinical practice.

The 3rd phase started in April 2019 and it lasts longer than expected. It had some delays due to administrative problems in France with the ethical committee. Besides, the phase was especially impacted by the COVID-19 related restrictions. That is why the original deadline was postponed and the field testing finished at the end of January 2021.

The 3rd phase was developed in the sites of the three procurers. The participating pain clinics are the following:

       France: Hôpitaux Universitaires Saint-Louis Lariboisière Ferdinand-Widal, Paris
       Spain: Reina Sofía University hospital, Cordoba
       Sweden: Uppsala University hospital, Uppsala

Some preparatory activities were needed before starting the field-testing. First, a prototype local adaptation of each prototype to the correspondent pilot site was carried out from April to May 2019. Then, a local pilot test with a reduced number of patients before the field testing started, was developed with the aim to ensure that the solutions were working in accordance with the expectations.

The Field Testing started in July 2019. The goal was to include a minimum of 120 patients, 40 patients involved in each region concurrently.

Patients with chronic pain scheduled for their first visit at the pain clinic were included in the study. At each study site 20 patients (60 patients in total) should be randomized to one of two ICT solutions and 20 patients at each site (60 in total) should be randomized as controls. During the inclusion meetings, patients were given information about the RELIEF project in general as well as about the conduct of the field testing. They were asked to fill in questionnaires related to pain management and patients selected to use the solutions were shown how to do so.

The evaluation period lasts for about 3 months. During this time, patients with ICT solutions were contacted by the field testing coordinators in order to ensure a good progress. After the 3 months period, all patients were asked to fill in the same questionnaires about pain management in order to conclude their participation to the study. Patients using ICT solutions were asked to answer additional questionnaires related to the use and the functionalities of the solutions. After some complications with patient recruitment due to COVID-19, it was decided that 3 patients per solution will also answer to an in-dept interview in order to collect sufficient data.

The recruitment of patients stopped at the end of October 2020 in all 3 sites even though the objective of 120 patients was not reached. In this way, all patients finished the clinical study by the end of January 2021 which leave the RELIEF Consortium enough time to analyse the results.
102 patients were recruited lin the field testing and 99 of them will successfully complete.

The Consortium partners are currently compiling and analysing all the collected data. The results will be presented at the RELIEF Final Conference on the 17th of March 2021.

After our experience with the field testing and thanks to the feedback collected from patients, we can already present some lessons learnt:

• The involvement of the medical stuff from the pain unit is essential. The patient needs to see the purpose in using the solution, therefore they need to see that the doctor pays attention to it.
• The involvement of the medical stuff from the pain unit is essential. The patient needs to see the purpose in using the solution, therefore they need to see that the doctor pays attention to it.
• If a technical problem is detected, it needs to be repaired quickly. If the same problem persists for too long, the patient will be demotivated to use the solutions.
• The use of ICT solutions in not adapted for all patients. First of all, the patient needs to know how to use the material such as smartphone, smartwatch or virtual reality headset. But also, the patient must be willing to use it regularly as an important part of the treatment.

The solutions developed in the project address the common challenge shared by all procurers in the buyers group: How could we improve self-management, empowerment and engagement in treatment, in chronic pain patients treated at Pain Units. With this focus, the technologies had to enable patients to self-manage, as well as engaging and empowering them to increase their ability to manage their symptoms, treatment, physical and psychosocial consequences and life-style changes.

Here we are presenting you an overview of the two solutions developed based on that challenge and that have been tested in real conditions. The buyers group is currently analyzing the conclusions of the data collected during the field-testing carried out in the last months. This analysis will be presented in the RELIEF Final Conference on the 17th of March. It will allow to evaluate the level of the accomplishment of the challenge and other requirements listed in the tender.

Two solutions were developed in the project: EPIONE by Gnomon Informatics S.A. and VR-RELIEF by Tech4Care.

• EPIONE
• • It is presented as a full pain management solution that allows patients:
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  • › Manage their Chronic Pain
  • › Manage their Health data
  • › Access to their treatment plans
  • › Communicate with Doctors
  • › Participate in support communities
  • › Get education about chronic pain
  • › Book medical appointments
  • › Track their lifestyle with wearables

On the one hand, EPIONE contributes to the streamlining self-management. It was designed to cover a wide range of treatment needs from medication management to exercise plans and nutritional habits. It has an easy to use digital health agenda and smart notifications. The solution includes a smart dialogue that helps to increase the medication adherence. Besides, patients can set personal goals. The solution proposes a gamified education environment for better inform patients. Users can get in touch with other patients in a safe and trusted social media network.

On the other hand, the solution contributes to a better Chronic Pain Assessment. It is based on updated chronic pain science and guidelines of the International Association for the study of Pain (IASP). Besides, patients can automatically populate medical history data, connecting to healthcare systems existing EHRs.

The solution is developed by Gnomon Informatics, S.A.

More information about EPIONE: https://epione-app.com/

• VR-RELIEF
• • VR-RELIEF is a mHealth solution which aims to improve self-management, empowerment and engagement in treatment for patients suffering from chronic pain. The patient uses a mobile app and wearable devices, integrated with a virtual coach based on artificial intelligence (AI) proprietary algorithms which runs a proactive monitoring. This solution can be potentially integrated with an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) system.
  •  
  • This modular solution is composed by:
  •  
  • 1) A HARDWARE PLATFORM: a smartphone, optionally integrated with a compatible smartwatch and a VR-Headset.
  • 2) A MOBILE APP including features such as a Virtual Coach (DR. Relief), able to collect patients’ information directly from them, the clinicians and the integrated hardware (e.g. data from the smartwatch/wrist and the VR-Headset) and providing personalized reminders and feedbacks to enhance patients adherence to the treatment and monitoring the results. The App includes also a set of training contents and social community tools for patients’ training and self-management.
  • 3) A PLATFORM FOR CLINICIANS to manage and profile the patients according to their clinical characteristics: data analysis allows the profiling of the patients, which will be the first step for the provision of (intelligent) personalized care.
  • 4) A library of VR applications for pain treatment, relaxation and rehabilitation, which can be used via a portable VR-headset.
  •  
  • The solution is developed in a partnership with Tech4Care, miThings AB and Ulster University. 

See a video explaining briefly the solution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrGzRjh9EoU

More information about VR-RELIEF: https://www.vr-relief.com/en/

Save the date on your agenda! Wednesday 17th of March from 10:00 to 12:30 CET the RELIEF consortium will present the results of the project in a virtual event. We will count on the presence of Orestis Kalliantzidis from the Unit H.3 eHealth, Well-being, and Ageing of the DG CONNECT. He will give an overview about the PCP instrument. Contractors will present the two solutions developed in the RELIEF project and explain how they are planning to commercialize them. Our buyer group will share results and conclusions from the field-testing carried out in the three countries (Spain, France and Sweden). The event will end with a roundtable in which procurers and contractors will discuss good practices and lessons learnt from the PCP process based on their experience in the RELIEF project.

The program will be available in the coming weeks.
Registrations here
More information here