The IT support for acquired brain injury patients - the design and evaluation of a new software package

The problems with producing a software system to assist in the rehabilitation of people who have suffered serious traumatic brain injuries are described. In addition to this primary use, therapists need the system for evaluation, monitoring and measurement purposes. The challenges of ensuring a high level of usability by incorporating the best of graphical and HCI design into a well-established software engineering methodology are discussed, as well as the details of the specific approach that we designed. The software needs to be repeatedly used and enjoyed by both the patients and the therapists. The challenges to writing software for use by such disparate groups are significant, and there is currently very little software that has been written specifically for this user group. As we discovered, many of the standard software design paradigms are inappropriate for users suffering from brain trauma injuries. The resulting suite of programs is now in use at a rehabilitation hospital in Victoria, and we report on their successful adoption.