HealthNavigator Navigation, coaching and motivation on touristic paths to improve physical fitness of chronic heart patients and increase their confidence to exercise

Regular exercise training is important for chronic heart patients, as this can reduce further deterioration of the disease, prevent readmission and increase quality of life. Chronic heart disease limits patients’ physical capabilities and one of the problems that patients face is the insecurity about their capabilities and the lack of confidence of staying within physical limits. Consequently, many patients tend to become too careful and avoid exercise all together.

HealthNavigator aims to improve physical fitness of chronic heart patients and increase confidence about their physical abilities, by providing feedback based on measured sensor data and available information about the environment. The system consists of an app on a smartphone and an additional set of sensors. The HealthNavigator will be an easy-to-use system, which can measure heart rate, activity, and when appropriate, saturation and breathing frequency. The system proposes different routes and shows the routes’ characteristics, such as difficulty or prospective arrival time (based on medical data). On route, the system provides navigation and presents touristic and topographic information. The sensors together enable the monitoring of the patient’s activity, as well as monitoring the physical parameters. The system encourages the patient during walking and cycling on the paths, by providing feedback on the patient’s performance, based on measured sensor data, and available information about the environment. During delays the system can compute alternatives, e.g. the fastest way home.

The consortium consists of three partners from Germany: Gewinet e.V., Schüchtermann Schiller’sche Kliniken, OFFIS e.V. and one partner from the Netherlands: Roessingh Research and Development.

The project started in 2011 and will run for 4 years.

This project is funded by:

Interreg Deutschland Nederland