IAA Collaboratively Testing the iKOALA osteoarthritis app

Researchers from the University of Bath and University of the West of England have developed a prototype smartphone app to provide support for people to better manage their osteoarthritis. The app is called iKOALA and stands for intelligent Knee Osteoarthritis Lifestyle App. The app helps to manage knee osteoarthritis in the following ways:

· Provides has useful information about osteoarthritis and rehabilitation exercises

· Monitors information such as physical activity patterns, steps and calories burned.

· Provides physical activity suggestions based upon users’ preferences.

· Helps to track and manage muscle and joint pain from knee osteoarthritis

The app has been developed in collaboration with physiotherapists and people with knee osteoarthritis. The next step of the development of the app, and the purpose of this study, is to ask people with knee osteoarthritis to use the app on their Android mobile phones for a period of 12-weeks and to provide feedback to the researchers.