Project SMILe
"Development and Testing of an Integrated Model of Care in the Continuum of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Facilitated by eHealth" - SMILe
The goal of the SMILe research project is to improve the follow-up care for patients after an allogeneic stem cell transplant, which is necessary, for example, following a diagnosis of leukemia. As part of the project, researchers will investigate how e-health can help improve patient follow-up care.
The project is being carried out in collaboration with the University of Basel (https://smile.nursing.unibas.ch/) and the University Medical Center Freiburg. All medical aspects are being developed there by teams of experts in the fields of medicine and nursing. Augsburg University of Applied Sciences is participating as a technical partner and is responsible for developing the e-health application.
As part of two semester projects in the Computer Science and Interactive Media program, initial design concepts and interaction flows, as well as the SMILe Care (Monitoring) component, were developed during the summer semesters of 2017 and 2018 and implemented as a first prototype.
In addition, as part of a thesis in the Interactive Media program, the process of an allogeneic stem cell transplant at the University Medical Center Freiburg was explained.
Since the project began in 2017, the prototype—consisting of the mobile patient application SMILe App and the monitoring solution for the nursing team, SMILe Care—has been continuously refined in close collaboration with the project partners and adapted to the needs of the target group.
In 2020, the project was awarded the Theodor Fliedner Medal for innovative nursing practice.
From January 2020 to 2023, the developed components—SMILeApp and SMILeCare—were tested by patients at the University Medical Center Freiburg and the University Hospital Basel as part of the SMILe study. At the same time, the DARE project was launched to examine the ethical and social dimensions of the project. In Freiburg, it was already demonstrated in 2023 that there is a trend toward improved overall survival.
Since January 1, 2024, the SMILe software components have been used in the SPIZ study at the University Hospitals of Dresden, Chemnitz, and Leipzig.