I-Corps: A Tele-Rehabilitation Platform for Interactive Therapy

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This project applies the methods and principles of bioengineering in the design and development of a tele-rehabilitation platform to allow stroke, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury patients to interact with therapists, with family members, and with other patients. The quality of life of these patients depends on longer-term exercise-based rehabilitation and support from the above groups. While frequent repetition of these exercises is critical to recovery, data indicates that compliance is very low. The proposed project seeks to increase compliance by increasing motivation through individual and multiplayer gaming, providing guidance and feedback, and enabling the therapist to monitor progress. Researchers use a combination of motion tracking technology, video games, and therapist oversight to accomplish increased compliance. The platform has three key components: 1. A set of computer games prescribed to patients by therapists; 2. A therapist portal to allow therapists to evaluate the patient, provide feedback and instructions, and coordinate with other providers in the course of treatment; 3. An evidence-based knowledgebase for the analysis of therapy outcomes for various types of patients, conditions, and therapy regimes. Two major shifts define the current trend in rehabilitation: The first is the shift toward evidence-based medicine. The second is the shift in rehabilitation from neuro-development, which emphasizes accurate performance of prescribed movements, to neuroplasticity, which emphasizes repetition and frequency. From a neuroplasticity perspective, the more repetitions of a movement, the stronger the identification fabric becomes as neurons rebuild their connections. The proposed project leverages current technology (motion tracking, gaming, cloud services, and data analytics) to enable both of these shifts in therapy. It involves patentable innovations in three key areas of patient-centered workflow development tools, collaborative stroke rehabilitation processes, and evidence-based therapy using data analytics techniques.