Impacta is the public innovation challenges program launched by the government of Chile. The program’s aim is to attract and eencourage talent outside the government by inviting the both private citizens and companies to get involved in complex public challenges by presenting new ideas, technologies, products or services.
The Laboratorio de Gobierno (Government Laboratory) is responsible for opening up new public challenges through its projects and research team, with precise objectives and scopes as the core of these new ideas. These ideas will be accompanied and financed by the Laboratorio de Gobierno so that they become solutions able to develop minimum viable prototypes (MVPs) for real-world testing.
Impacta Salud was a public challenge in search of solutions that strengthen the model of comprehensive family and community health in Chile. Its main aim is to bring healthcare closer to people so as to relieve overcrowding in family health centers and promote disease prevention and self-care.
More than 200 companies and citizens participated in the competition with only 20 projects being preselected to present to a jury made up of professionals from a variety of related sectors and members of the government. Virtualware with its solution ACTIVA CARE, a rehabilitation service for the elderly based on VirtualRehab, was amongst the top companies chosen to move onto the next stage involving a live demo of each solution to a jury.
VirtualRehab is a scalable software and hardware solution designed to be used by both small clinics and large hospitals, as well as in patient’s homes through a cloud-based telerehabilitation service. The product includes VirtualRehab BODY, which uses the Kinect® for Xbox One to help patients work on a variety of motor functions for the upper and lower extremities, as well as VirtualRehab HANDS, which includes gamified exercises aimed at improving fine motor skills and dexterity of the hands. VirtualRehab HANDS uses the Leap Motion® controller to precisely detect movements of the fingers and an ergonomic armrest developed by Virtualware for added comfort of the users. Virtual Rehab comes with a management tool to help therapists to customize the exercises and monitor patients’ progress.  VirtualRehab is the first virtual reality rehabilitation platform to receive CE mark approval as a medical device.
DEMO DAY for the 20 companies took place on October 12th to select the top projects to continue in the following BOOTCAMP phase, in which each participant will be required to design and adapt their solutions to best match the specific needs of Chilean Government.
Virtualware was finally chosen to be among 12 companies to move onto the Boot Camp phase starting on November 9th, which included a monetary prize.
Cristobal Artigas, Chile Country Manager, affirms “having been chosen for the Bootcamp phase with our solution ActivaCare based on VirtualRehab is a great success for both our company and also for our product. Working directly with healthcare institutions and actual patients will allow us to adapt VirtualRehab to actual Chilean conditions, create an added value service for the Health Ministry and at the same time help solve some of the challenges facing the Chilean Government in terms of healthcare for its senior citizens”.
VirtualRehab is already being used in some hospitals and clinics in Chile, but this opportunity lets us focus on how to implement it on a global level in the Chilean healthcare system, making it possible for all Chileans to have an opportunity to use an advanced a rehabilitation that takes into account their specific needs.
Impacta Salud: http://lab.gob.cl/impacta/
Photos: Demo Day