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ApplyingtheStagesofDevelopment:
Experiences,challenges,andstrategiesfromtheRERConAAC
JaniceLightandThomasJakobsPennStateUniversity&InvoTek,Inc.
Goals• TosharetheexperienceoftheRERConAACateachstageofdevelopment– Describechallenges– Discussstrategiestoovercomesomeofthechallenges
• TosharethestoryofoneR&Dproject– RERConAACproject,DevelopmentofAACdisplaysthatsupporttransitionfromgraphicsymbolstoliteracy(T2L)forindividualswithcomplexcommunicationneeds(CCN)
– Seehttps://rerc-aac.psu.edu/research/r2-investigating-aac-technologies-to-support-the-transition-from-graphic-symbols-to-literacy/
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Background• Buildinglong-termrelationships– Wewereacquaintedwitheachotherforseveralyearsbeforecollaborating
– Initialcollaborationgrewoutofclinicalneed• Janice’sresearch&clinicalexperiencesuggestedthatAACtechnologieswouldbemoreeffectiveifdisplayscouldbecreated“justintime”duringinteractionswithchildrenwithCCN
• Tomsaid“whatifwebuildanappthatdoesthefollowing…”?Janicesaid“Itwouldbebetterif…”
– AnSBIRproposalwasborn!• Phase1/Phase2SBIRs• TheseSBIRsledtoanewunmetneed
– Appstosupporttransitiontoliteracy
ThirdStage activitiestransformaProofof
ProductintoanAdoptedProduct.
PROOFOFADOPTION
4
PROOFOFCONCEPT
PROOFOFPRODUCT
FirstStage activitiestransformtheProductIDEA intoaProofof
Concept.
SecondStage activitiestransformtheProofofConcept intoaProofof
Product
StagesofDevelopment
CopyrightNationalInstituteonDisability,IndependentLiving,andRehabilitation
Research
PRODUCTIDEA
9/16/2015
Stage1
Stage2
Stage3
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R&Dstrategy• InordertomaximizebenefitforindividualswithCCN,ourR&Dprojectsfocusontheclinicalneed– EnhancedeffectivenessofAACtechnologies– PotentialtobeincorporatedintoawiderangeofAACtools– Potentialtoincreasethenumberofpeoplewhobenefit
• Ourtechtransferstrategy– Fosteranenvironmentoftrustandintegrity– Involvepotentialcommercializationpartnersasearlyaspossible,eveninideastage
Techtransferstrategy• Developmentpath
– Utilizesastagegateprocess– NtK model(CenteronKT4TT)– Solicitsparticipationofkeystakeholdersatallstages
• RERConAACresponsibilities– Identifyunmetneeds&priorities;definescopeofprojects– ConductR&Dtodevelopengineeringsolutions
• Proofofconcept
– Testtheseprototypes&evaluatethemclinicallyinthefield• Proofofproduct
• Commercializationthroughdevelopmentpartners– Incorporatethesolutionsintotheirproducts/apps– Spearheadcommercialization/productionactivities
• Proofofadoption
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PROOFOFADOPTION
7
PROOFOFCONCEPT
PROOFOFPRODUCT
FirstStage activitiestransformtheProductIDEA intoaProofof
Concept.
StagesofDevelopment
CopyrightNationalInstituteonDisability,IndependentLiving,andRehabilitation
Research
PRODUCTIDEA
9/16/2015
Stage1
Stage2
Stage3
Stage1Defineneed&targetaudience
• Need&targetaudiencedefinedthrough– Priorresearch• PriorRERCgrant• SBIRPhase1&Phase2grants
– Clinicalexperience– Stakeholderinput• IndividualswhouseAAC,families,clinicians,ATmanufacturers/appdevelopers,etc.
– Stateofscienceconferencewithkeystakeholders
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AACtechnologiestosupporttransitionfromgraphicsymbolstoliteracy(T2L)• Unmetneed– Morethan90%ofindividualswithCCNenteradulthoodwithoutliteracyskills
– Asaresult,theyareseverelyrestrictedineducation,employment,healthcare&communityliving
– CurrentAACtechnologiesdonotsupportthetransitionfrompicturesymbolstoliteracy
• Goal– TodevelopAACappstosupporttransitiontoliteracy
TargetmarketTeam
• Targetmarket– Children&adultswithCCNwhoarenonliterate orpreliterate
• Team– Technicalteam(InvoTek,Saltillo)– Clinicalteam(PSU)– Consumerteam(PSU)– Commercializationpartners(TobiiDynavox,Saltillo)
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Stage1Productidea
• Potentialtechnologysolution/scopeofprojectdefinedthrough…– Comprehensivereviewofresearch
• Definetheory&researchunderlyinguserinterfacedesign– Presenttextdynamicallyuponselectionofgraphicsymbol– Textpresentationpairedwithgraphicsymbol&speechoutput
– InputfromAACmanufacturers/appdevelopers• Identifypartnersandroles
– Competingtechnologysearch• Techtransferplandeveloped– AssistanceofKT4TT
T2LTechnologysolution
• Outputs– 2AACappstoimproveliteracyskillsforindividualswithCCN• Grid-basedapp• VSD-basedapp
– Research-baseduserinterfacedesignspecsforAACappstosupporttransitionfrompicturesymbolstoliteracy
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Stage1AssessmentsT2LProofofConcept
• Establishfeasibility– Technicaldevelopment&functionaltesting
– Clinicaltesting• Expertclinicians
– Usertesting• PilottestingwithindividualswithCCN
• Assessusability,utility,consumersatisfaction,use
ChallengesFromproductideatoproofofconcept• Collaboratingatadistance– Technicalandclinicalteams
• Ensuringcomprehensivestakeholderinput• Involvingcommercializationpartners– Buildingrelationships
• Maximizingresources– Leveragingotherfundingsources
• AchievingATdesignsthatareclinicallysound&research-based
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PROOFOFADOPTION
15
PROOFOFCONCEPT
PROOFOFPRODUCT
SecondStage activitiestransformtheProofofConcept intoaProofof
Product
StagesofDevelopment
CopyrightNationalInstituteonDisability,IndependentLiving,andRehabilitation
Research
PRODUCTIDEA
9/16/2015
Stage1
Stage2
Stage3
Stage2Proofofconcepttoproofofproduct
• Clinicalevaluationwithstakeholdersinrealworld– IndividualswithCCN,families– AACclinicians,rehab/educationalpersonnel,etc.
• Iterativetechnicaldevelopment– Fine-tuningdesignbasedonclinicalresults
• OngoingcollaborationwithATmanufacturers
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Stage2AssessmentsProofofProduct
• Establishthattheproductiseffective– Seriesofsinglecaseexperimentalresearchdesignstargeting• Childrenwithautism,Downsyndrome,IDD,CP• Adultswithautism,Downsyndrome,IDD,CP
• Researchhypothesis– IndividualswithCCNwillincreasetheirliteracyskillsasaresultofusingtheT2Lapp• VSDapporgridapp
Stage2 – Assessmentdata6studiesinprogress
RERConAAC
Please note: These graphs present preliminary data for projects which are still in progress, please contact authors for updated information
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ChallengesProofofconcepttoproofofproduct• Dealingwithchangesinmainstreamtechnology– E.g.,Googlespeechrecognition
• Implementinghighqualityclinicaltrials– Recruiting&retainingindividualswithcomplexneeds&families
– Conductingstudiesinrealworldcontexts• InvolvingATmanufacturers/appdevelopers– Developingrelationships– Communicatingproductspecsclearly– Avoiding“featurecreep”
ThirdStage activitiestransformaProofof
ProductintoanAdoptedProduct.
PROOFOFADOPTION
20
PROOFOFCONCEPT
PROOFOFPRODUCT
StagesofDevelopment
CopyrightNationalInstituteonDisability,IndependentLiving,andRehabilitation
Research
PRODUCTIDEA
9/16/2015
Stage1
Stage2
Stage3
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Stage3Proofofproducttoadoptedproduct
• Commercializationefforts– TechIPremainswithdeveloper• InvoTekforVSDprototype
– LicensedtoTobiiDynavox– ReleasedasSnapScene2016
• Saltilloforgridprototype
– Publishresearch/userinterfacedesignspecs• Promotewidespreadadoption&greaterbenefit
Stage3AssessmentsProofproductisbeneficial
• Assessmentofawarenessofstakeholders,usebyindividualswithCCN,retention,impact,etc.
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ChallengesProofofproducttoadoptedproduct• Ensuringproductisrealizedfully– CommunicatingproductspecsclearlytoATmanufacturers
• Providingresourcesassupportsforclinicians&families– Disseminatingimplementationguidelines&researchresultsrapidlyinuserfriendlyformats• e.g.,trainings,websites,MOOC
• Assessingadoption– Accessingdataonuse,retention,etc.– Timelagforuptake
Lessonslearned• Gathercomprehensiveinputfromstakeholders• Involvepotentialcommercializationpartnersearlyandoften– Exclusivitymaynotbebestcommercializationapproach
• Communicateopenly,clearly,andspecifically• Demonstratebenefit/impactwithcompellingclinicaldata
• Focusonthemission– Veryfewdisability-relatedproductsgeneratesubstantialrevenuethroughlicensing
– Instead,marketyoursuccesswhenapplyingforcontractsand/orgrants.
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RERC-AAC.ORG• Thecontentsofthispresentationweredevelopedundera
grantfromtheNationalInstituteonDisability,IndependentLiving,andRehabilitationResearch(NIDILRRgrantnumber#90RE5017)totheRehabilitationEngineeringResearchCenteronAugmentativeandAlternativeCommunication(RERConAAC).
• NIDILRRisaCenterwithintheAdministrationforCommunityLiving(ACL),DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices(HHS).ThecontentsofthispresentationdonotnecessarilyrepresentthepolicyofNIDILRR,ACL,HHS,andyoushouldnotassumeendorsementbytheFederalGovernment.
