September 14, 2018
The FocusLocus Innovation Action project, led by the ISL Lab of NCSRD, is currently in month 23. A multidisciplinary Consortium of partners are developing a highly disruptive and innovative gamified intervention programme for assisting children to manage and overcome Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms. The FocusLocus approach is being formally demonstrated, thoroughly tested and evaluated through the implementation of pilot study experiments at the premises of Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona.
A preliminary integration testing has taken place in June 2018, in order to allow for correcting minor issues both in the software and in the testing set up methods. 10 patients from the SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital and the Centros de Salud Mental Infantil y Juvenil (CSMIJ) [Child and Adolescent Mental Healthcare Centres] in Mollet del Vallés and Vilanova, participated in this pilot phase.
This month, researchers of the ISL Lab, in collaboration with psychologists and clinicians, are launching a pilot study, on the 17th of September, at the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital that will run for 8 weeks. 80 children with ADHD, aged 8 to 15 yrs, will participate in this pilot and test the REEFOCUS game that has been developed in the context of the FocusLocus project. The study aims at researching on the potential of the REEFOCUS game to alleviate ADHD-associated symptoms and to constitute a competent digital alternative to conventional ADHD treatment methods.
