Module information
Module details
- Title
- Rehabilitation Engineering 2
- Type
- Specialist
- Module code
- SPE340
- Credits
- 30
- Requirement
- Compulsory
Aim of this module
Clinical Gait Analysis
To allow the trainee to develop specialist skills in this modality sufficient to allow them to carry out supervised clinical gait analysis (CGA).
Medical Engineering Design
To allow the trainee to develop specialist skills in a subset of the wider range of clinical services and subject areas within AT, CGA or a closely related work area.
Work-based components
Academic content (MSc in Clinical Science)
Important information
The academic parts of this module will be detailed and communicated to you by your university. Please contact them if you have questions regarding this module and its assessments. The module titles in your MSc may not be exactly identical to the work-based modules shown in the e-portfolio. Your modules will be aligned, however, to ensure that your academic and work-based learning are complimentary.
Learning outcomes
- Discuss and evaluate the practice of rehabilitation engineering.
- Explain orthopaedic biomechanics and the requirements for orthopaedic implants.
- Discuss and evaluate biomaterials encountered in rehabilitation engineering design solutions and their biocompatibility.
- Describe and critically appraise the development of innovative design solutions in aids for daily living.
Indicative content
Rehabilitation Engineering
- Practice of rehabilitation engineering for people with physical, sensory, communication, learning, or neurological disabilities, including:
- principles of patient assessment and rehabilitation plans
- sensory impairments and their treatment
- mobility and postural management
- Orthotic and prosthetic devices
- Mobility aids
- Seating systems
- Augmentative and alternative communication
- Environmental controls, aids for daily living, smart homes, workplace adaptations
- Sensory and neurological implants
- Functional electrical stimulation
- Advances in rehabilitation engineering, including:
- implantable and body-worn (bio)sensors
- neural stimulation
- biological cell manipulation
- nanotechnology
- Software for rehabilitation engineering
- finite element analysis
- The current social, political and legislative contexts, the service user perspective and ethical issues
- Evidence-based assistive technologies
- Innovation and design of custom aids for daily living for clients with a complex range of disabilities
Orthopaedic Biomechanics
- Effects of disease and age on the musculoskeletal system
- Engineering requirements of orthopaedic implants
- Mechanical load requirements
- Standards for production and testing
- Approaches to biocompatibility and constraints in respect of implants
- Common orthopaedic implants
Biomaterials
- Properties of cells, organs, tissues, tissue repair; tissue substitutes
- Biocompatibility, biotolerance, biodegradation
- Tribology
- Tissue integration,
- Materials for implantation: composites, polymers
- Synthetic
- Testing of materials, methods, standards, legislation
Clinical experiences
Important information
Clinical experiential learning is the range of activities trainees may undertake in order to gain the experience and evidence to demonstrate their achievement of module competencies and assessments. The list is not definitive or mandatory, but training officers should ensure, as best training practice, that trainees gain as many of these clinical experiences as possible. They should be included in training plans, and once undertaken they should support the completion of module assessments and competencies within the e-portfolio.
Activities
Clinical Gait Analysis
- Under supervision, lead three CGA assessments:
- take a past medical history by reviewing the patient’s medical notes, liaising with the referring clinician(s), and from a patient interview at a clinic appointment
- using this history, confirm what clinical question(s) need answering and select the most appropriate gait assessment tools
- perform a physical/clinical examination
- Prepare the laboratory for the appointment, including all system and quality assurance checks
- collect data in the laboratory
- process the data obtained
- complete for the reporting clinical scientist a real or shadow report, including options of kinematic, kinetic and/or visual assessment
- suggest recommendations for treatment
- participate and contribute to multidisciplinary discussions
- In each of the above cases, follow the progress of the patient from the initial consultation, through measurement of gait, multidisciplinary interpretation of results and into the determined outcomes, be these therapeutic, surgical or pharmacological Reflect on your learning from this process
- Taking two patients as case studies, critically reflect on the effect of the intervention on the lifestyle of the patient and the role of the healthcare scientist in the process
- Observe a series of patients attending the laboratory, seen both as new referrals and as follow-ups or re-referrals Critically appraise the process of referral, diagnosis and treatment, including an analysis of how the inter-professional team work together
Medical Engineering Design
- Identify requirements for at least two pieces of equipment; these may be for specific patient use or for measurement/diagnosis:
- develop each requirement into a design brief and subsequently into a set of design specifications, suitable to allow the development of design concepts
- evaluate these concepts using a appropriate scientific methods
- produce CAD drawings and/or circuit schematics, sufficiently detailed to allow the development of costing estimates and manufacture by an external organisation
- take the designs through manufacture and validate a prototype
- develop the required documentation as stipulated by the relevant legislation
- critically evaluate all stages of the project
- In the context of an outpatient clinic:
- identify the need for equipment modification
- determine the details of the required modifications in discussion with the referring clinician and the end user
- carry out the required modifications, demonstrating an adherence to the relevant legislation
- evaluate the effectiveness of the modification, in terms of functionality and cost effectiveness
- Using at least two pieces of equipment that have been developed, critically reflect on the impact of the equipment on the patient/clinical environment as appropriate and the role of the healthcare scientist in the process