MITMed: Multimodal Interaction System for Telemedicine – Complementing Video-Based Psychotherapy Through a Wearable and Integrated IS

Partner: University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), LEHNER GmbH SENSOR-SYSTEME (LS), Minddistrict GmbH (MD), Digital Worx GmbH (DW)

Project duration: 04/2022 – 03/2025

Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Methods: Iterative and Co-Creative Design, Hardware and Software Development, Continuous Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation

Summary:
The global Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on mental health within our society. Not only have mental health conditions deteriorated due to social isolation, but also the provision of adequate health care services has become challenging. In the psychotherapeutic context especially, overcoming issues related to emotional distance and the therapeutic relationship has proven difficult when the interaction between patient and therapist relies on video or text-based systems alone. To deal with these challenges, MITMed aims to develop a hybrid interaction system that complements video-based psychotherapy in situations where face-to-face contact is not possible. The system will integrate tactile cues using an innovative wearable, thereby enabling the intuitive exchange of information on individual states during video therapy. Moreover, the project will ensure the system’s connectivity with a well-established mental e-health platform as well as a hospital information system.