Brace

In Dublin 8, clinicians and community organisations have long recognised that the most meaningful part of rehabilitation begins after patients leave the hospital. Within structured clinical settings such as St James’s Hospital, patients follow clear programmes, guided by physiotherapists and rehabilitation teams. But once at home, sustaining that momentum can be more difficult. During the Smart D8 2023 Pilot Call, Brace – a community-driven rehabilitation platform – proposed a simple but compelling idea: recovery becomes more achievable when people feel supported, motivated and connected.

From the outset, the project benefited from the strong collaborative network that Smart D8 has built in Dublin 8. The pilot drew together clinicians from St James’s and other hospitals, Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI), the Irish Cancer Society’s Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA) group, Dublin City Council, local sports organisations and technology partners. This diversity of stakeholders allowed Brace to test and refine its platform in a real community environment, while ensuring that the insights and needs of medical professionals, patient groups and local residents were meaningfully integrated. It also reflected the wider ambition of Smart D8: to create a district where health innovation can be explored and strengthened through partnership.

The project centred on improving rehabilitation engagement among community members – not by replacing clinical guidance, but by enhancing it. Brace’s approach combined practical tools such as exercise tracking and goal-setting with social features that encouraged users to share progress, support each other and build confidence in their recovery. To support this, the platform underwent significant development during the pilot, including enhanced privacy settings, an expanded exercise library and the introduction of an “organisation offering” that allowed hospitals, charities and community groups to create their own private, supportive rehabilitation spaces. These features were shaped directly by the conversations and feedback made possible through Smart D8’s network.

Alongside platform development, the pilot emphasised community engagement. Brace met with groups across Dublin 8, onboarded new users and created accessible pathways for people beginning or returning to rehabilitation. Data collection and engagement tracking formed a further strand of the project, capturing how people interacted with the platform and how these interactions supported their wellbeing. The final, and particularly valuable, component of the pilot came through HIHI, which facilitated clinical validation sessions with orthopaedic consultants, registrars and physiotherapists. These sessions provided structured, independent assessment of the platform’s potential role within rehabilitation care.

The results were encouraging. Over the six-month period, 202 users joined the platform, completing more than 9,500 rehabilitation actions and participating in nearly 2,000 community interactions. Many spoke of feeling more motivated, more connected and more capable of tracking their recovery. HIHI’s final evaluation echoed this sentiment, noting that Brace could play a valuable role in supporting different patient groups, particularly those who benefit from added structure and social encouragement during their rehabilitation journey. Clinicians welcomed the platform’s potential to complement existing care and expressed support for its wider use.

One app user said:

“I love how the app gamifies the recovery process and gives you plenty of motivation to keep moving forward, even on your bad days.”

While another user added:

“It really makes you feel like you’re not alone and it isn’t just you dealing with these issues.”

The broader outcome of the pilot was a demonstration of what community-centred innovation can achieve when supported by a strong ecosystem. The project illustrated that rehabilitation is not only a physical process but also a social and psychological one – shaped by encouragement, shared experience and a sense of progression. By embedding the pilot within a neighbourhood already committed to health and wellbeing, Smart D8 helped create the conditions for a technology like Brace to grow, listen, adapt and ultimately demonstrate its impact.