Aphasia therapy software: an investigation of the research literature and the challenges of software development

Aphasia therapy software: aninvestigation of the research literature and the challenges of software development Background: Digital aphasia therapy has become increasingly popular over the past years. However, not all software described in the literature appears to reach clinical practice. It is currently unclear why this is the case. Aim: We had two aims. First, we aimed to create an overview of the digital aphasia therapy described and its clinical availability bysystematically searching and reviewing the research literature. Second, we aimed to investigate the experiences of researchers/developers of aphasia therapy software. Method & Procedures: We conducted a systematic search and review, screening references against our inclusion criteria. Clinical availability of the software was established through reading literature, conducting internet searches, and by contacting the researchers/developers who were associated with the software. Researchers/developers of the reported software were surveyed about their experiences with software development. Responses were the matically analysed into themes and subthemes. Outcomes & Results: We identified a total of 63 unique pieces of software across 125 references. The software was mainly developed for English speakers and mainly focused on word retrieval or a combination of language skills. We established clinical availability with certainty for 35 pieces of software, with the remaining software (likely) currently clinically unavailable. From the survey data, we identified five recurring themes: 1) software development can be expensive and insufficient funding hinders their clinical availability; 2) commercialisation of software is often new and daunting to researchers but essential for making software available; 3) clinicians and people with aphasia are valuable sources of feedback; 4) working with software developers can be difficult; and 5) aphasia therapy software should combine both the evidence base and current clinical need. Conclusions: Aminority of aphasia therapy software described in the literature reaches clinical practice. It is clear that the development and subsequent dissemination of aphasia therapy software requires large amounts of time, energy, and funds but we conclude that this is essential for successful clinical implementation.