Audivers 360º, immersive reality speech therapy for individuals with hearing impairment

Laura Hurtado on 31 January 2024

Dues usuàries del servei Audivers 360º en una sala de realitat immersiva.

A pioneering project in speech therapy with immersive reality, aimed at children and adults with hearing loss

Audivers 360º seeks to apply new technologies to transform conventional speech therapy sessions into experiences that allow individuals to immerse themselves in the real sounds of an environment, making the session more natural, enriching and efficient.

In collaboration with Broomx, the technological company that owns the tool, they have created immersive scenarios adapted to the needs of people with hearing impairment. With these immersive scenarios, all the objectives set in a conventional speech therapy session are addressed, comprehensively reinforcing aspects of hearing, language and communication. They address aspects such as sound detection and discrimination, recognition, verbal expression and comprehension, as well as other aspects of language pragmatics.

Simultaneously, while these activities are carried out, they are working on other aspects such as executive functions, auditory memory, motivation towards speech therapy and emotional well-being, among others. This innovative methodology has a direct and significant impact on the social inclusion process of adults and children with hearing loss, addressing and incorporating all auditory, communicative and emotional needs to successfully carry out and optimize speech therapy sessions.

Characteristics of innovation

Publications, Cross-cutting intervention, Disability, Independent living, New model of intervention, Pilot project, User empowerment

Localization

Barcelona, Catalonia

Partners / Funders

Social Rights and Health Departament from Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona City Council and Fundació la Caixa

Genesis

A pioneering project in virtual reality speech therapy sparked the organization’s interest in the opportunities and new methodologies that technologies can bring to speech therapy sessions. Virtual reality allowed the transformation of traditional sessions by connecting the sound of an environment in a practical and intuitive way. This approach enhances the engagement and motivation of the individual receiving therapy, who observes results more rapidly. However, the association perceived shortcomings in the virtual reality’s support for the speech therapist. At that moment, they discovered the immersive reality rooms at Suara Cooperativa and saw a potential solution to the issue: applying immersive reality to speech therapy. In 2022, they began developing the idea, which eventually took shape in May 2023.

Level of implementation

Audivers 360º is still in the pilot phase. Test sessions are being conducted with 20 individuals with hearing impairment, including both children and adults. These sessions will be evaluated based on the participant’s satisfaction level and the assessment of speech therapists regarding the methodology and outcomes of the sessions, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The project was awarded the Graustic 2023 Prize for Social Integration through Digitalization, sponsored by the iSocial Foundation.

More information

Propose your innovation

See our selection of innovations

Banc d’innovacions

EMO is a tool that provides resources to offer emotional support to people living with multiple sclerosis.

EMO, an app that provides emotional support for people living with multiple sclerosis

Ready4life, a coaching app for young people

COTI és una xarxa social que connecta persones amb dificultats cognitives amb els seus familiars i amb professionals de l'àmbit sociosanitari

COTI, a social network that facilitates digital communication for people with cognitive impairment

COTI is a social network that connects people with cognitive impairment to their families and to professionals in the social and healthcare sector.

wSocial platform that integrates artificial intelligence to improve social services intervention

wSocial, a platform that integrates artificial intelligence to improve social services intervention

wSocial, is a platform that integrates artificial intelligence to improve social services intervention

Cognitive telerehabilitation platform offering personalized online treatments

Mokin, intelligent translation tool for asylum seekers

Rural Care, innovation in care for rural dependents

Toni Codina on 4 July 2023

An innovative project that offers social support, health care and opportunities for participation in the community to people with dependency, disability or chronic illness living in rural areas. It aims to enable people to remain at home with security, quality of life and dignity, maintaining their life project and daily routine.

In rural areas, which in recent years have been dominated by an ageing population, families, communities and volunteers play a crucial role in well-being. The Rural Care project stems from the desire to ensure active ageing around the home and is based on the premise that community participation is essential. This initiative is implemented in the province of Valladolid, in a rural context. Thus, this project, which is part of a European initiative for innovation in social services, is designed for people who are in situations of dependency and require constant support and care.

In this sense, the aim is to guarantee the dignity of people, ensuring their autonomy and respecting their preferences and wishes. Rural Care also focuses on the families and carers of the project participants, providing them with support to reconcile care tasks with personal, social and working life, as well as to ensure their own health.

This project stands out for its multi-level partnership of public and private actors, as well as for the coordination of social and health services at different levels. The Support Plan developed for each project participant includes different professionals: a coordinator, a case manager, a reference professional at home and in the community, among others. Among the support actions, it is worth highlighting that the home is also adapted and a personalised community participation programme is designed. In this sense, it is worth highlighting the fact that one of the project’s objectives is to dynamise the rural territory, local occupation, community involvement and social cohesion.