I-Corps: Semi-automated adaptive upper extremity training for individuals post-stroke

University Of Southern California, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project addresses automated, adaptive-rehabilitation and training assessment for victims of neurological disorders that impact motor functions. As the population ages and survival rates post-stroke increase, there is a need to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of motor therapy. This I-Corps team's goal is to improve arm and hand function following neurological disorders that affect the motor system, such as stroke, Parkinson's disease, and traumatic brain injury (TBI). This I-Corps team has developed a new device, MOTION-REACH, that provides automated and high-intensity arm motor training based on continuous accurate measurements of hand path and arm/trunk kinematics acquired from a 3D camera. This allows for objective assessment of reaching performance, minimization of compensatory movements, and adaptive training. Adaptive training with MOTION-REACH is intuitive and can be performed by patients alone or in a semi-supervised clinical environment. MOTION-REACH also provides fast, high-precision, and validated assessments. Session-by-session reports and overall reports for the patient, the therapist, and the health insurance provider are generated and saved on a database in the cloud. The MOTION-REACH device will expand therapist time availability because the device can be used by an unsupervised patient and does not require 1-to-1 supervision by the therapist, as it automatically monitors and prompts patients to perform movements correctly. Customer segments will include hospital-based and private physical therapy clinics. The device can be sold into the private patient marketplace, to be used in-home by private-pay patients under the remote guidance of a physical therapist. The value proposition for the therapist derives from the ability to have patients performing highly effective therapeutic exercises without direct therapist supervision. The value proposition for the patient and the patient's medical insurance provider is that optimal and sustainable improvement is achieved in fewer therapy sessions than with traditional stroke recovery and other therapy techniques. This team's long-term goal is to develop personalized neurorehabilitation, similar to the successful drug dosing control in clinical pharmacology.