The aging population and the surge in chronic musculoskeletal diseases (MSK) in Hong Kong have placed immense pressure on social welfare organizations (NGOs) that provide rehabilitation services. The good news is that the government has timely launched the “Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care” to help eligible organizations introduce digital technologies (such as FlexMSK) to improve the cost-effectiveness of rehabilitation services.
What is “Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care”?
The government has allocated HK$2 billion to establish the Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care (the Fund) to subsidize eligible aging and rehabilitation service providers to purchase, rent and trial technology products, and to expand their applications to aging technology products suitable for home use, in order to improve the quality of life of service users and reduce the stress on caregivers and caregivers.
Application Eligibility
- All service units from NGOs and private organisations receiving subsidies from SWD and providing residential care services for elderly and persons with disabilities, community care and support services for the elderly or day rehabilitation and community support services for persons with disabilities (PWDs) are eligible to make application.
- The application for procurement and rental of technology products has been extended to all non-subsidised private and self-financing residential care homes for the elderly and persons with disabilities from Tranche 8 launched in September 2022 onwards.
Approved Cases
Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service has successfully secured full funding to acquire FlexMSK—classified under “Remote Technology Platforms” within the “Smart Systems” category (Project 23.3)—to provide remote rehabilitation services for elderly residents in the community. This initiative accelerates recovery progress and frees up the physiotherapy team to handle more new cases, thereby significantly reducing waiting times for new patients.
Deadline
The Thirteenth Tranche of the Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care is open for application from 13 April 2026 (Monday) to 13 July 2026 (Monday) 5:00 p.m.
Why is FlexMSK considered an eligible product?
For social welfare organizations or care facilities looking to leverage technology to enhance rehabilitation services, FlexMSK is the ideal solution:
An AI Physical Therapist for the Patient’s Home
A patient’s rehabilitation progress depends on their strict adherence to prescribed rehabilitation exercises; FlexMSK provides the necessary support to fully assist patients in performing these prescribed exercises:
- Enhancing Precision: FlexMSK’s medical-grade AI skeletal sensor monitors patient movements and provides real-time feedback by comparing them against prescribed exercises. Patients can view the prescribed movements on the same screen to make adjustments, thereby reducing the risk of secondary injury caused by incorrect form.
- Automatic Tracking: The system automatically records changes in the patient’s range of motion (ROM) and accurate repetition counts, then uploads the data to the therapist’s FlexMSK interface, providing a clear view of precise metrics.
- Minimal Setup: FlexMSK utilizes markerless sensing technology, eliminating the need for patients to wear smartbands or complex detection devices. Patients simply use the front-facing camera of an ordinary smartphone to perform their prescribed exercises, thereby avoiding additional hardware costs and maintenance requirements.
- Better communication: Patients can communicate with their therapists online in real time through FlexMSK, providing more information beyond exercise data, allowing therapists to adjust prescriptions more effectively and provide timely advice.
The Best Partner of a Physiotherapist
Frontline therapists face heavy workloads, including clinical diagnosis of new cases, designing prescription exercises, and following up with existing patients to schedule follow-up assessments. FlexMSK addresses this by streamlining therapists’ workload and improving treatment effectiveness.
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- Quick setup: Therapists can directly select common prescription movements from a built-in exercise library (covering neck, shoulders, back, legs, etc.), greatly simplifying the prescription process.
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- 100% Personalized Prescriptions: FlexMSK features built-in medical-grade AI skeletal sensing, which has been patented in Hong Kong (patent number: HK30105427). It can instantly capture key points of the human skeleton and perform real-time three-dimensional biomechanical analysis. Therapists only need to upload demonstration exercise videos to create prescription exercises.
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- Reduce the number of follow-up visits: The system automatically generates cloud-based data charts, allowing therapists to review patients’ rehabilitation progress anytime, anywhere, and remotely adjust prescriptions based on real and objective data, or communicate with patients online to provide more encouragement and feedback, thus saving a significant amount of traditional follow-up visit time.
- Wide range of applications: In addition to musculoskeletal rehabilitation (MSK Rehabilitation), FlexMSK can also be used for orthopedic rehabilitation (effectively assisting in postoperative rehabilitation of joint, bone and soft tissue injuries), chronic pain management (long-term rehabilitation training for persistent musculoskeletal diseases), and mobility assistance for the elderly (to improve balance, gait performance and functional autonomy), etc.
Professional Recognition
In the medical field, FlexMSK has established its position as an adjunctive therapy and has gained recognition from Hong Kong’s public healthcare system and the medical community:
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- The Hospital Authority has officially adopted FlexMSK AI software, which has been officially recognized by the Hong Kong Hospital Authority (HA) and applied in the treatment services of public hospitals (such as North District Hospital) to assist frontline medical staff in real-time monitoring and data-driven rehabilitation treatment.
- Clinical Evidence from the Internationally Renowned Medical Journal JMIR: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) in 2026 confirmed that RaphAI’s AI-assisted remote rehabilitation system significantly outperforms traditional home-based exercise methods in clinical efficacy, particularly in improving motor skills and self-management of health. (Full study results: https://www.jmir.org/2026/1/e81400）
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- Applications in community rehabilitation services: Social welfare organizations such as the Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service have adopted FlexMSK to improve the cost-effectiveness of overall rehabilitation services and to provide patients with a faster and more effective treatment experience.
- Continuous Improvement: We are a member of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and has engaged in in-depth strategic collaborations with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and top medical universities in mainland China to jointly develop new clinical standards for remote rehabilitation.
Full Government Funding
The “Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation” prioritizes the practicality, safety, and relief of pressure on frontline workers in its approval process. The FlexMSK program fully meets the fund’s funding criteria, and there are already fully funded cases. Our professional team will provide you with one-stop application support, technical assistance, and hands-on demonstrations.
