It is hard to believe that the PatentsInHumans Project has passed the one-year point having commenced in November 2022! And what a quick and busy year it was! Alongside recently publishing our Year 1 Report which gave us pause to reflect on the project, we were delighted to write this article for the IDEAS in ALL Blog to mark the first year of the project and to provide a snapshot of the research and other activities the PatentsInHumans team have undertaken during this time.
Author:Emily McConway, Undergraduate Intern in Psychology, Maynooth University and Mac MacLachlan, Professor of Psychology & Social Inclusion, and Co-Director of the ALL Institute, Maynooth University
Early assessment and intervention are vital in facilitating positive developmental and behavioural outcomes for children with neurodevelopmental conditions. Early intervention has a positive long-term effect on both autistic children and their caregivers. The current process of assessing the needs of children with possible autistic traits focuses on the use of behavioural clinical diagnostic instruments such as Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). Both instruments require direct clinician-to-child observation and can take hours to administer and score. In many countries, long waiting lists, coupled with social, economic and geographic barriers hinders timely assessment of neurodiverse children. The ALL Institute is interested in pragmatic ways to streamline access to services, including assessing a person’s needs for services and supports.
Author: Matthew McKenna, PhD Researcher at Maynooth University’s Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute , Research Funded through the Science Foundation of Ireland (SFI) Centre for Research Training in Advanced Networks for Sustainable Societies (ADVANCE CRT)
Supporting universal and consistent access to Assistive Technology (AT) at third-level education within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Ireland represents a critical milestone to achieving equal opportunities for persons with disabilities.
Author: Priscille Geiser is a consultant in rights-based, disability-inclusive development, and a Research Associate with the ALL Institute’s SHAPES project.
Research Stream: Social Technologies
As I visited my grandparents in the north of France earlier this year, I arrived by train at the nearest station and my grandfather, 96 years old, was to proudly drive me home. As he was not there yet, I sent him a text message, and he arrived shortly after. Yet he told me he had not received the message, because he does not know how to use this function.
Author: Dr Opeyemi Kolawole (Post-doctoral Researcher, PatentInHuman Project)
Dr Opeyemi Kolawole
Medical devices are integral to healthcare service delivery. Patients and healthcare service providers utilise these devices to diagnose, prevent, monitor, alleviate, and restore impaired body functions. Depending on the complexities of these devices and how they are deployed, they can become integrated with the patient’s body, and the patient’s healthy functioning and life may become dependent on the device (for example, an insulin pump or a pacemaker). Yet, like every other device, medical devices are susceptible to wear and tear: embedded software in the device may become obsolete over time, and physical elements may become deficient, making a device unsuitable for the patient’s needs. What options are available to the patient or health service provider in such instances? Should they, or a trusted repairer, be allowed to repair these devices? Patients and hospitals confronted this question at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Author: Joan Alaboson is a Doctoral Researcher in the Department of Psychology, Maynooth University. She has a background in medicine and an MSc in Public Health with broad research interests in non-communicable diseases, particularly mental health, social determinants of health and quality of life.
Joan Alaboson
‘What can be done to make settling into the PhD, better?’ asked Dirk, the Director of the Science Foundation Ireland’s Centre for Research Training in Advance Networks for Sustainable Societies (ADVANCE CRT) at a meeting with funded PhD students. Being the only one in the room that had recently commenced my studies, at that moment I felt there was a deep sense of concern for my well-being by ‘management’. It was the first of such fora I’d attended, and I left with a lasting impression of being in relatable company during my studies.
True inclusion, however, could often be elusive, despite best efforts. There is hardly any organization, entity or group that does not seek to represent the interests of those concerned. It may be expressed in a vision, mission, goals, or activities. Yet, many can be left out. Sometimes, it is a fault inherent in group development, when diverse people are not present to consciously bring unique perspectives to the fore. Similarly, it may result from work protocols or culture that fail to recognize and may neglect, systematically, the views and or needs of diverse people.
Author:Neasa Boyle, PhD Researcher, Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute, Department of Psychology, Maynooth University
Neasa Boyle
It’s impossible to overlook how deeply technology has influenced daily life, employment, and education today. With its growing importance, education systems must adapt to ensure that students are prepared for the modern digital world and obtain the skills to navigate a technologically advanced society. However, such education streams have only been implemented in recent decades, limiting social inclusion for individuals who are out of education, training, or employment. This new demand for digital skills leaves a large proportion of the population with the responsibility of upskilling, or else facing the risk of being left behind in the current job market and, ultimately, being left unable to participate in the society.
Authors: Nicola Mountford, Assistant Professor, School of Business, Assisting Living and Learning Institute (ALL), Maynooth University and Sean Doyle, Professor, Department of Biology, Maynooth University
Neosepsis project logo, Sean Doyle, Nicola Mountford
Over 32,000 neonatal deaths occur per annum in Uganda, with sepsis accounting for 20% of this death rate – that’s 6,500 newborn babies who die of sepsis in just one country in the world. That’s not all, sepsis also accounts for almost a quarter of maternal deaths in Uganda. Our project, NEOSEPSIS, aims to reduce these numbers by introducing an easy-to-use, 15 minute lateral flow test to help to better diagnose sepsis in resource limited environments, such as Uganda.
The test detects Serum amyloid A, or SAA – a globally validated biomarker of sepsis. The lateral flow test used in this process is very similar to the type of antigen test that you might have used to help diagnose whether or not you had Covid-19. It is just as user-friendly, rapid, and equipment-free as one of those Covid antigen tests. This makes it particularly suited to environments where it might be difficult to take, store and transport samples.
Authors: Louise Veling is a Senior Post-Doctoral Researcher with the Horizon 2020 SHAPES Project as part of the Assisted Living and Learning (ALL) Institute / Department of Engineering at Maynooth University. Rudi Villing is a Lecturer with the School of Engineering at Maynooth University, Programme Director of the BSc in Robotics & Intelligence Devices, member of the Hamilton Institute and associate director of the Assisted Living and Learning (ALL) institute.
Rudi Villing and Louise Veling
Few people would dispute the importance of centring older people’s needs when it comes to developing assistive technologies. For assistive robots, this is even more important. As in other fields, within robotics and human-robot interaction (HRI) research, older people are often subject to stereotypical representations and ageist attitudes. Assistive robots are also still in their infancy, with few yet deployed in practice, so there is still some distance to go before robots make it out of the lab and into the real world. What they will be capable of and how they will be used is still in a process of negotiation.
Author: Dr Richard Vance, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Department of Psychology and Assisting Living & Learning (ALL) Institute, Maynooth University
Dr Richard Vance
“I fear the day when technology overlaps our humanity” goes a quote, which is dubiously attributed to Albert Einstein on the internet—sometimes you can trust technology, sometimes you can’t.
Last week was Social Justice Week in Maynooth, and it’s as good a time as any to reflect on whether we’re making a positive difference to the lives of others and the world around us. I want to look at how we’re approaching the design and provision of digital health technologies for older adults to promote health and well-being and reduce inequality.
Authors: Negin M Harandi– PhD student, Department of Sociology, Maynooth University. Funded by ADVANCE CRT (SFI), Fatima Ayoub – PhD student, Department of Electronic Engineering, Maynooth University. Funded by ADVANCE CRT (SFI)
Pictured Mylo Robot – CR Robotics/Mylo
Can robots be social? Can we start to think of them as our co-workers, companions, teachers, or caregivers? Would they make our lives easier or is there a robot-dominated dystopian future already awaiting us? These are some of the questions that might pop into anyone’s head when hearing about social robots. Thinking about how AI could be more social is always interesting. We are an extremely social species and often like to imagine what happens when something other than a human is able to act like a human.
On 19 April 2021, the ALL institute hosted a seminar on “Social robots: the ultimate test for AI and robotics”. Professor Tony Belpaeme (Ghent University) introduced by Dr Rudi Villing (Maynooth University), took us through a few experiments with social robots in different social settings and we got the chance to see how social robots were performing as teaching assistants, therapy assistants and caregivers.
This was especially interesting to us as our PhD projects are about robots. Although we have different ways of studying and looking at social robots as a sociology student and an electronic engineering student, being able to see some of the shortcomings and challenges of using social robots in real social environments was fascinating for both of us.
Maynooth Illuminations exhibition space – Maynooth University
Memory is arguably the most important cognitive function we possess, and its loss leaves a profound gap in many aspects of life. The progressive deterioration of brain structures responsible for memory – so common in old age, and even more so in degenerative conditions – robs people of so much: their most treasured moments, their ability to recognise friends and family, their independence, their confidence, their very sense of self. While pharmaceutical remedies for memory decline remain unsuccessful, research with lifestyle-based, non-pharmacological interventions may offer promising avenues for the future. Among these approaches in Reminiscence Therapy, whereby older people – often in group settings – meet regularly to actively recall and share memories from earlier life epochs, with the process often steered by a moderator. At one time, older adults reminiscing was considered a worrying sign, suggesting some form of regression, but since Butler’s seminal paper in 1961, the benefits of reminiscence – resolving affairs, giving meaning to life – have been well studied, leading to the adoption of Reminiscence Therapy in many care homes and hospitals.
Authors: Joseph Timoney, Azeema Yaseen and Damien McEvoy – , Department of Computer Science, Maynooth University
Azeema Yaseen, Damien McEvoy & Joseph Timoney
Social technologies enable meaningful social interactions between people, devoid of geographical and time constraints. These technologies are facilitated by a networked communication capability, for example the Internet or a mobile device. We can say, they act as a bridge between humans, no matter how remote they are from each other. Do you know that Facebook, Twitter, and Skype are social technology enabled social networks? If you have an internet connection, they are accessible. Some of these tools are general purpose, while others are domain specific, such as those targeted for health (e.g., wearables and mobile Health), or music (e.g., SoundCloud, Spotify). The three branches of social technologies are illustrated in Figure 1. below.
Figure 1
The development and application of social technologies will promote aims driven by the All institute; The ALL institute aims to facilitate human living and improve the quality of lives across any boundaries, supported by appropriate technologies. To achieve this, the All Institute provides an unparalleled interdisciplinary environment to develop and promote such technologies.
Aligning with this aim, our research interest is the intersection between the two in the form of social technologies for healthcare (patient-practitioners) through musical activities. The theme of our work is ‘Ubiquitous music (ubimus)’ and has a strong social and community underpinning. Our objective is to create social music technology applications: they facilitate networked interaction and engagement that would otherwise be impossible. This will allow inter-connections between people to raises their sense of wellbeing through creative activity, which is increasingly recognised as being important to all aspects of peoples’ health.
Author: Hilary Hooks, Department of Law, ALL Institute, Maynooth University
Earlier this year I was tasked with creating an accessible blogsite for the ALL Institute. While I welcomed the opportunity to do so, my background and expertise is that of an administrator, with little web accessibility experience. The process of making this blog site as accessible as possible has been a steep learning curve for me and I would like to share some of my new-found understanding of the issues and accessibility tools.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) states that access to “information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems” is a human right (Article 9 CRPD), and, among other things, requires States Parties to the Convention to ensure that websites are accessible to people with disabilities.
