Home-Based Intervention Tool for Cardiac Telerehabilitation: Protocol for a Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Digital Health
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Adults with congenital heart disease increasingly require cardiac surgery, with high rates of reintervention.
• Postoperative cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is crucial for psychophysical recovery, reducing symptoms and improving survival.
• Telemedicine and mobile health devices offer opportunities to enhance CR, promoting patient self-care and remote monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, develop, and evaluate the Innovation in Postoperative Rehabilitation Training and Monitoring (IPOTERI) system for home-based cardiac surgery rehabilitation.
• To implement the IPOTERI system in a real-world setting for postcardiac surgical patients.
• To establish a data framework for developing AI-driven personalized rehabilitation pathways.

Main Methods:

• The IPOTERI system integrates a telemonitoring platform, an intelligent home station with an Android app for vital sign recording and activity planning, and a decision support system linked to hospital records.
• The system facilitates continuous postoperative care, patient engagement, and timely clinical intervention.
• Data analytics and AI techniques will be prototyped using collected patient data.

Main Results:

• A pilot test involving 50 patients commenced in June 2023, with a planned monitoring period of 12-14 weeks.
• The study is collecting data on vital signs and rehabilitation activity adherence.
• Analysis of pilot data is pending.

Conclusions:

• The IPOTERI approach, leveraging home-based telemedicine data and clinical information, has the potential to improve adherence to cardiac rehabilitation programs.
• This integrated system may lead to enhanced clinical recovery and a better quality of life for postsurgical cardiac patients.