One Report from Many Systems: Connected Diagnostics in Neurorehabilitation
In neurological rehabilitation, findings emerge from many sources at once – force measurements, gait and balance analyses, perimetry, sleep diagnostics, robot-assisted therapy. Each system delivers valuable data, yet too often it remains isolated. The Neurological Rehabilitation Centre “Rosenhügel” (NRZ Rosenhügel) in Vienna takes a consistent path here: together with Datico®, several diagnostic and therapy systems are connected via the Datico® LIFE HUB so that their data forms a single, consolidated report – which can be transferred automatically to the hospital information system (HIS).
NRZ Rosenhügel at a Glance
Established in 2002, NRZ Rosenhügel has become a centre of excellence for neurological and neuropsychological rehabilitation. Located on the outskirts of Vienna, it has 147 inpatient beds and 30 day-care therapy places; around 220 staff support patients in restoring their functional capacity, mobility and independence. An interdisciplinary team works here at a high professional level – with one forward-looking goal: building a structured treatment database to better document the care of neurological patients and continuously optimise it.
The Challenge
Modern neurorehabilitation works with a multitude of specialised systems – each with its own software, data format and output path. In practice this leads to media discontinuities: findings are exported individually, stored as PDFs and passed on manually. What is missing is consolidation. Gait and balance analysis in particular does not rely on a single device, but on several measurement systems – complemented by numerous manual tests and assessments by the therapists. Combining these building blocks into a reliable overall report, rather than merely collecting them side by side, was the central task. And in the long term, every one of these measurements should not only be documented but also become usable data for a growing treatment database.
The Solution with Datico®
In the first project phase, the systems used for gait and balance analysis – from BERTEC and BTS Bioengineering – were connected directly to the Datico® LIFE HUB. Using Datico® Smart Forms, individual questionnaires and queries were created that the therapists fill in directly during therapy. The decisive step comes next: Datico® merges the device data and the manual inputs and generates from them a new, self-contained report for the gait and balance analysis, which is transferred automatically to the hospital information system (HIS). In other words, existing PDFs are not simply forwarded – a consolidated result is generated from multiple sources.
In a further phase, the isokinetic system from Biodex was connected. The patients’ force-time curves are imported into the Datico® LIFE HUB, calibrated there via a baseline measurement and then compared against a stored reference profile (idol) using Datico® Idol Management – turning a pure measurement into a contextualised, interpretable evaluation.
Step by step, further systems were added: perimetry from Oculus, treadmill-based gait analysis from Zebris integrated into an h/p/cosmos treadmill, and sleep analysis from SOMNOmedics. The robot-assisted Armeo system from Hocoma was also connected so that data exchange with the HIS became possible. In addition, the EMG system from Noraxon was connected – implemented via the software solution from velamed (Cologne).
The project keeps growing: the connection of the tyromotion systems via a FHIR interface is currently being built – tyromotion is developing this interface and carrying out the initial installation at NRZ Rosenhügel as a pilot project.
This makes the Datico® Data Value Chain visible throughout the project:
- Data in Connection – BERTEC, BTS, Biodex, Oculus, Zebris/h/p/cosmos, SOMNOmedics, Hocoma and Noraxon (via velamed) are brought together at a central data point; tyromotion will follow.
- Data in Context – Smart Forms, calibration via baseline measurement and the idol comparison turn raw data into contextualised, clinically usable findings.
- Data in Communication – a consolidated report is generated and transferred automatically to the HIS via the Datico® KIS Connector.
- Data in Consistency – the data remains under the clinic’s control and forms the basis of the planned treatment database.
Results and Benefits
NRZ Rosenhügel now has a continuous path from the individual measurement to the integrated report. Instead of isolated exports from many systems, a consolidated result is created – particularly for the demanding gait and balance analysis, in which device data and therapeutic assessments come together in a single document in a structured way for the first time. The automatic transfer to the HIS reduces manual steps and media discontinuities. Above all, the project lays the foundation for the overarching goal: a growing treatment database in which every measurement is documented and made analysable for the continuous optimisation of neurological care.
Voice of the Customer
“With the Datico® LIFE HUB, we can now bring the data from our diagnostic systems and the assessments of our therapists together into a single report – instead of exporting it from many systems individually. For gait and balance analysis this is real progress, and it lays the foundation for our treatment database.”
— Mag. Stefan Kotzian, Head of Medical Movement Analysis and Training Therapy, NRZ Rosenhügel
Conclusion
NRZ Rosenhügel shows how a heterogeneous device landscape becomes a continuous clinical data flow – from gait and balance analysis through isokinetics to sleep diagnostics. Datico® provides the technical foundation: connect, contextualise, generate a reliable report and transfer it securely to the HIS. Many individual measurements thus become a consolidated basis for decisions – and, step by step, a treatment database for neurorehabilitation. Better Data. Better Decisions. Better Outcomes.