CASE STUDY
Co-design of software to obtain audio from children following ‘999’ and ‘111’ calls
LONG-TERM CONDITIONS
THEME
UNMET NEED
Half of all ‘999’ calls for children involve a respiratory symptom, which is a notoriously difficult presentation for ambulance services. Nearly half of all children who visit the emergency department in England each year (4.9 million) receive either no treatment or just advice and guidance, indicating that the patient could have been managed elsewhere. There is a clear need for novel tools to assist in the triaging of children during a ‘999’ or ‘111’ call.
PROJECT CONCEPT / SOLUTION
When a clinician performs an in person examination of a child, they listen to their breathing to make decisions about their care. This takes a considerable amount of time and inconveniences the child and parent who have to travel for an appointment or admit the child to A&E unnecessarily.
Elixir AI Limited have developed software for parents to share audio of breathing/coughing and other information via smartphones with ambulance services. Our team have conducted a number of co-design sessions to inform on the final design of the software, ensuring the software is optimised from a parent perspective.
SUPPORT PROVIDED
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
One of our project managers was assigned to this project to oversee the work packages and ensure the protocol was followed and timelines adhered to. Our team worked flexibly to incorporate additional conditions into the co-design consultation process, including biliary atresia.
PATIENT AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND ENGAGEMENT
Our team helped to facilitate a co-design development process, in which parents were consulted about the design and content of the Elixir platform.
FUNDING
This project was funded by the NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) Funding At the Speed of Translation (FAST) award (£30,000).
STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT
BEFORE SUPPORT
BASIC IDEA
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
PROTOTYPE VALIDATION
CLINICAL TESTING
REGULATORY APPROVAL
MANUFACTURING
COMMERCIALLY / PUBLICLY AVAILABLE
CURRENT STAGE
BASIC IDEA
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
PROTOTYPE VALIDATION
CLINICAL TESTING
REGULATORY APPROVAL
MANUFACTURING
COMMERCIALLY / PUBLICLY AVAILABLE
POTENTIAL IMPACT
This project aims to improve the decision-making process for children with respiratory symptoms in emergencies and reduce unnecessary emergency department visits. The co-design process increases the likelihood that the needs and requirements of parents are met. This project therefore de-risks further innovation by demonstrating acceptability and showing that the technical and privacy concerns of parents have been overcome.
NEXT STEPS
Using the co-design process, the Elixir platform will be further developed to address the needs and requirements of parents. Through the work conducted during this project, Elixir has successfully applied for funding to conduct a multi-centre project, focusing this time on biliary atresia.
PARTNERS