ICU Communication App

This app is designed for patients who are intubated (have a breathing tube in their throat) - leaving them fully aware but temporarily unable to speak. These patients will be in hospital and in Intensive Care (ICU), High Dependency Units (HDU) and other wards.
This simple communication app was designed with individuals who have lived through this experience on ICU.
- The app is designed around a number of core principles that support a patient, who will potentially be distressed and possibly confused, in communicating:
- The main app screen provides reassurance: patients described waking up in a state of confusion not knowing where they were and what would happen to them.
- Communication can build from single words: past patients and their relatives described the person who can talk doing the majority of the work when communicating.
- The app comes with some pre-defined words: these are based on the topics that patients and relatives of those who had been on ICU said were important
- The words in the app can be personalised: relatives can add words specific to the individual to allow simple and quick communication of topics important to the patient.
- Communication can happen over a long time: As well as communicating in the moment the app can be left with the patient and they can construct a message over a long period of time. Patients described having moments of lucidity and moments of hallucination, fatigue and confusion.
- The app has multiple way of supporting novel communication: a simple keyboard allows the patient to type a message, and the app also includes 2 tools to allow hospital staff or relatives to support the patient in communicating.
This app is designed to be part of a tool kit which includes staff training in partner based communication techniques as well as paper based Augmentative Communication (AAC) resources.
This app was designed during research by Barnsley Hospital's Assistive Technology Team and Imperial College's Helix Centre. The app has now been released for free in order to support the response to Covid 19 and the increased incidence of patients who are being ventilated.
This app is designed specifically for use in hospital environments. For those with longer term communication needs there are a range of other Augmentative and Alternative (AAC) strategies, software and apps that may be able to support.