News Archive
Putting their foot in it for new clinic ...
PERSONALITIES from the worlds of sport and politics immortalised their footprints in a 'walk of fame' to launch Salford University's state-of-the-art new £0.75m podiatry clinic.
Salford City Reds prop-forward Philip Leuluai and Salford MP and secretary of state for communities and local government, Hazel Blears were among the first celebrities to put their very different sized feet in moulds which will be displayed in the new university facilities for years to come.
Designed with the local community in mind, the clinic enables Salford podiatry students to continue their work with real patients under the supervision of fully qualified staff – within brand new hi-tech facilities. Services include gait analysis, nail surgery and children's foot care.
Guests at the launch included Salford City Reds coach Shaun McRae and world record-breaking marathon runner Ron Hill, as well as other professionals from the health and sport industries, with the facilities being officially opened by Hazel Blears MP.
She said: “I am delighted to officially open the podiatry clinic at Salford University and I would like to congratulate everyone who has been involved.
“The state-of-the-art facilities will provide an excellent opportunity for students to gain new skills and I am very pleased indeed that it is operating for the benefit of the local community.”
Head of the university's school of health care professions, Sue Braid said: “With its visually stunning interior this new clinic will enable our students – including many of our international students – to maximise their skills while being supervised by our experienced staff. There will also be plenty of opportunities for collaborative research with our gait lab.
“The clinic will also serve as a valuable service to the community. It is already frequently visited by celebrities and sports personalities and we have links with Manchester City Football Club and Lancashire County Cricket Club. We intend to add to our collection of 'walk of fame' footprints over the coming months and years – they'll be an entertaining addition to our reception area.”
PERSONALITIES from the worlds of sport and politics immortalised their footprints in a 'walk of fame' to launch Salford University's state-of-the-art new £0.75m podiatry clinic.
Salford City Reds prop-forward Philip Leuluai and Salford MP and secretary of state for communities and local government, Hazel Blears were among the first celebrities to put their very different sized feet in moulds which will be displayed in the new university facilities for years to come.
Designed with the local community in mind, the clinic enables Salford podiatry students to continue their work with real patients under the supervision of fully qualified staff – within brand new hi-tech facilities. Services include gait analysis, nail surgery and children's foot care.
Guests at the launch included Salford City Reds coach Shaun McRae and world record-breaking marathon runner Ron Hill, as well as other professionals from the health and sport industries, with the facilities being officially opened by Hazel Blears MP.
She said: “I am delighted to officially open the podiatry clinic at Salford University and I would like to congratulate everyone who has been involved.
“The state-of-the-art facilities will provide an excellent opportunity for students to gain new skills and I am very pleased indeed that it is operating for the benefit of the local community.”
Head of the university's school of health care professions, Sue Braid said: “With its visually stunning interior this new clinic will enable our students – including many of our international students – to maximise their skills while being supervised by our experienced staff. There will also be plenty of opportunities for collaborative research with our gait lab.
“The clinic will also serve as a valuable service to the community. It is already frequently visited by celebrities and sports personalities and we have links with Manchester City Football Club and Lancashire County Cricket Club. We intend to add to our collection of 'walk of fame' footprints over the coming months and years – they'll be an entertaining addition to our reception area.”
Service bids for greater flexibility
CHESTERFIELD Wheelchair Service (WS) has adopted Ethitec’s ELMS2 Wheelchair Module to enable greater flexibility in service management and care delivery.
From managing assessment clinics to general stock control, the ELMS2 Wheelchair Module is designed to map and support the day-to-day operations of a busy wheelchair service. Chesterfield WS decided to implement ELMS2 based on the bespoke wheelchair features the system provides.
The ELMS2 Wheelchair Module has reduced the administrative burden of coordinating the scheme by electronically recording client preference and then automatically printing the relevant voucher.
Judith Taylor, wheelchair service manager for North Derbyshire, said: “Choice is central to client satisfaction, particularly where permanent wheelchair loans are concerned.
“Since its introduction we have always endorsed and delivered the voucher scheme, but administration was a lengthy paper-based process. Now we simply check a box on ELMS2 which instantly records the client’s choice and if relevant, prints the voucher straight away.”
The advanced reporting features of ELMS2 have also made a positive impact on monitoring the wheelchair voucher scheme.
Judith added: “Basically, whatever information goes into ELMS2 we can easily extract a report on. This makes it easy for us to monitor uptake of the scheme as well as review against available budget. It’s extremely user friendly and I wouldn’t be without it now.”
The benefit of ELMS2 reports extend far beyond the wheelchair voucher scheme. Superior management information in relation to commissioning and providing can be accessed with ease. Whether to obtain a summary of GP referrers or to evaluate service performance against neighbouring providers, ELMS2 gives Chesterfield WS an efficient and effective reporting tool.
From a stock control perspective, ELMS2 offers robust track and trace functionality, delivering real time information on individual wheelchair location and history. In the event of an MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) alert for example, a search can be conducted using a wide range of criteria including Asset ID, the manufacturer or batch number, delivery note number, or external reference number – and then any affected wheelchairs immediately identified and recalled.
CHESTERFIELD Wheelchair Service (WS) has adopted Ethitec’s ELMS2 Wheelchair Module to enable greater flexibility in service management and care delivery.
From managing assessment clinics to general stock control, the ELMS2 Wheelchair Module is designed to map and support the day-to-day operations of a busy wheelchair service. Chesterfield WS decided to implement ELMS2 based on the bespoke wheelchair features the system provides.
The ELMS2 Wheelchair Module has reduced the administrative burden of coordinating the scheme by electronically recording client preference and then automatically printing the relevant voucher.
Judith Taylor, wheelchair service manager for North Derbyshire, said: “Choice is central to client satisfaction, particularly where permanent wheelchair loans are concerned.
“Since its introduction we have always endorsed and delivered the voucher scheme, but administration was a lengthy paper-based process. Now we simply check a box on ELMS2 which instantly records the client’s choice and if relevant, prints the voucher straight away.”
The advanced reporting features of ELMS2 have also made a positive impact on monitoring the wheelchair voucher scheme.
Judith added: “Basically, whatever information goes into ELMS2 we can easily extract a report on. This makes it easy for us to monitor uptake of the scheme as well as review against available budget. It’s extremely user friendly and I wouldn’t be without it now.”
The benefit of ELMS2 reports extend far beyond the wheelchair voucher scheme. Superior management information in relation to commissioning and providing can be accessed with ease. Whether to obtain a summary of GP referrers or to evaluate service performance against neighbouring providers, ELMS2 gives Chesterfield WS an efficient and effective reporting tool.
From a stock control perspective, ELMS2 offers robust track and trace functionality, delivering real time information on individual wheelchair location and history. In the event of an MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) alert for example, a search can be conducted using a wide range of criteria including Asset ID, the manufacturer or batch number, delivery note number, or external reference number – and then any affected wheelchairs immediately identified and recalled.
Team researching effect of exercise on muscle in old age
EXPERTS at the University of Nottingham are looking to recruit men of two specific age groups to help understand the effect of exercise and nutrition on muscle in old age.
The team from the School of Graduate Entry Medicine and Health at Derby City General Hospital, expect this information will help the elderly avoid falls and fractures by discovering the amount of exercise and the kind of nutrition needed to maintain and rebuild muscles.
Leading this research is Michael Rennie, Professor of Clinical Physiology, and an expert on muscle growth and wasting in health and disease. He said: “If we can preserve muscle tissue and maintain health and independence as we get older that in turn would reduce healthcare costs associated with age related muscle wasting. We already know that it is harder for older people to maintain their muscles and we know that exercise can build muscle. What we do not yet know is how much or how little exercise is needed to do this or how best to feed people to maximise the benefit.”
They now wish to recruit healthy male volunteers to carry out these studies after obtaining funding from Unilever plc. The researchers are looking for non-smoking volunteers aged between 18 and 30 or 65 and 75. Initially, the volunteers will undergo health screening and a body scan to measure their muscle composition and muscle strength.
On two separate occasions, under the supervision of a doctor and scientists, they will take part in exercise of varying intensity and duration. During these visits, a tagged amino acid will be infused and blood samples and muscle biopsies will be taken, under local anaesthesia, from thigh muscle so the researchers can measure the body’s ability to make muscle in response to exercise and feeding.
The research group has over 20 years experience of carrying out these types of metabolic studies. Volunteers will also receive an honorarium to cover their expense.
Dr Vinod Kumar, who is currently recruiting volunteers, said: “I am really excited to be involved in this project because it is inevitable that we will all grow old. So, if we can determine how to maintain muscle mass as we age it will greatly benefit us all.”
The study has just started and they hope to finish by the middle of 2009. The team needs to recruit 78 volunteers over the next 18 months and results should begin to come through by the middle of 2008.
EXPERTS at the University of Nottingham are looking to recruit men of two specific age groups to help understand the effect of exercise and nutrition on muscle in old age.
The team from the School of Graduate Entry Medicine and Health at Derby City General Hospital, expect this information will help the elderly avoid falls and fractures by discovering the amount of exercise and the kind of nutrition needed to maintain and rebuild muscles.
Leading this research is Michael Rennie, Professor of Clinical Physiology, and an expert on muscle growth and wasting in health and disease. He said: “If we can preserve muscle tissue and maintain health and independence as we get older that in turn would reduce healthcare costs associated with age related muscle wasting. We already know that it is harder for older people to maintain their muscles and we know that exercise can build muscle. What we do not yet know is how much or how little exercise is needed to do this or how best to feed people to maximise the benefit.”
They now wish to recruit healthy male volunteers to carry out these studies after obtaining funding from Unilever plc. The researchers are looking for non-smoking volunteers aged between 18 and 30 or 65 and 75. Initially, the volunteers will undergo health screening and a body scan to measure their muscle composition and muscle strength.
On two separate occasions, under the supervision of a doctor and scientists, they will take part in exercise of varying intensity and duration. During these visits, a tagged amino acid will be infused and blood samples and muscle biopsies will be taken, under local anaesthesia, from thigh muscle so the researchers can measure the body’s ability to make muscle in response to exercise and feeding.
The research group has over 20 years experience of carrying out these types of metabolic studies. Volunteers will also receive an honorarium to cover their expense.
Dr Vinod Kumar, who is currently recruiting volunteers, said: “I am really excited to be involved in this project because it is inevitable that we will all grow old. So, if we can determine how to maintain muscle mass as we age it will greatly benefit us all.”
The study has just started and they hope to finish by the middle of 2009. The team needs to recruit 78 volunteers over the next 18 months and results should begin to come through by the middle of 2008.
Pioneering trial aims to help stroke victims
A PIONEERING system which aims to retrain weak or paralysed muscles in patients who have suffered brain damage as a result of a stroke is being trialled at the University of Southampton.
Local people are needed to participate in trials so that this technology can be made widely available.
Researchers from the University’s School of Health Professions and Rehabilitation Sciences and the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) have developed a technology to help stroke patients to re-learn movement.
Dr Jane Burridge from the School of Health Professions and Rehabilitation Sciences who is leading the research said: “As far as we know, nobody has tried using a technique called iterative learning control, to help people who have had a stroke to move again. It is a great example of how state of the art control theory, normally used for industrial robots, can be applied to challenges in rehabilitation.”
Now, 18 months into the three-year project, the researchers have tested the technology on healthy people and proved that it works and now want to carry out trials with local people who have suffered strokes.
Working with stroke patients, the team will look at how electrical stimulation to contract appropriate muscles through electrodes attached to the skin can be controlled to enable stroke patients to successfully perform tasks.
The patient will attempt to track a moving target over a two dimensional plane by moving a joystick. The patient’s movement will be measured to detect the tracking error and calculations made to adjust the level and timing of stimulation so that the error is corrected. The ultimate aim is that through repetition, voluntary movement will improve, thus gradually reducing the need for artificial stimulation.
Dr Paul Lewin at ECS said: “This is a very challenging project as it is the first time in Europe that this technology has been applied to humans. With robots, behaviour is entirely predictable, you can make them perform a task perfectly every time. People often reach a natural plateau in their performance, but if you can get them to repeat moves using certain tasks, they have a much better chance of recovery.”
Dr Burridge added: “This is a very exciting development of what could prove to be a user friendly way of enabling recovery of movement in patients who are severely disabled.”
A PIONEERING system which aims to retrain weak or paralysed muscles in patients who have suffered brain damage as a result of a stroke is being trialled at the University of Southampton.
Local people are needed to participate in trials so that this technology can be made widely available.
Researchers from the University’s School of Health Professions and Rehabilitation Sciences and the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) have developed a technology to help stroke patients to re-learn movement.
Dr Jane Burridge from the School of Health Professions and Rehabilitation Sciences who is leading the research said: “As far as we know, nobody has tried using a technique called iterative learning control, to help people who have had a stroke to move again. It is a great example of how state of the art control theory, normally used for industrial robots, can be applied to challenges in rehabilitation.”
Now, 18 months into the three-year project, the researchers have tested the technology on healthy people and proved that it works and now want to carry out trials with local people who have suffered strokes.
Working with stroke patients, the team will look at how electrical stimulation to contract appropriate muscles through electrodes attached to the skin can be controlled to enable stroke patients to successfully perform tasks.
The patient will attempt to track a moving target over a two dimensional plane by moving a joystick. The patient’s movement will be measured to detect the tracking error and calculations made to adjust the level and timing of stimulation so that the error is corrected. The ultimate aim is that through repetition, voluntary movement will improve, thus gradually reducing the need for artificial stimulation.
Dr Paul Lewin at ECS said: “This is a very challenging project as it is the first time in Europe that this technology has been applied to humans. With robots, behaviour is entirely predictable, you can make them perform a task perfectly every time. People often reach a natural plateau in their performance, but if you can get them to repeat moves using certain tasks, they have a much better chance of recovery.”
Dr Burridge added: “This is a very exciting development of what could prove to be a user friendly way of enabling recovery of movement in patients who are severely disabled.”
