I-Corps: The Augmented Reality WEarable Device (ARWED) for Upper-Limb Rehabilitation

I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力基于增强现实可穿戴设备（ARWED）的特点，该设备可用于中风后患者的培训，例如，允许用户将受损的手臂视为健康的。纳入ARWED的初步训练方案，使该系统成为一种可靠的解决方案，有望被从事康复、运动治疗和康复的医疗专业人员广泛使用。虽然ARWED主要是为中风后患者的身体训练而开发的，但该项目的探索有望为任何规模的肢体受限患者的身体康复提供有效的工具——从部分运动能力丧失的个体到由于中风、出生缺陷或事故导致的严重行动受限的个体。由于与基于机器人的中风训练相比，观察学习在日常生活活动（ADLs）的转移方面可能提供更大的好处，因此医学界也将从ARWED的发展中受益。深入了解如何使用技术训练可以增强不同人群运动控制的恢复，同时提供一种新的干预措施，可能比目前可用的干预措施更有效。这个I-Corps项目的重点是开发行动观察和行动执行之间的联系，以便根据观察学习技术制定训练方案，以促进神经系统疾病后的康复。这种疾病可能包括中风或脊髓损伤等灾难性事件。目前，利用虚拟现实重新学习生物运动的系统有限。ARWED的开发需要解决计算机视觉、建模和机器人运动方面的几个挑战。目前对该设备有效性的测试需要结合生物力学、信号分析、虚拟现实、机器人故障恢复理论和康复等领域的专业知识。因此，从这一合作研究中产生的理论贡献有望不仅在医学领域内，而且在上述研究领域内推进知识和理解。该研究的多学科性质将导致工程学、医学和运动学等领域的本科生和研究生的教育。该项目的成果将促进物理/职业治疗和工程专业的学生和专业人员之间的对话，这可以帮助人类在神经系统疾病的努力下恢复。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is based on the characteristics of the Augmented Reality WEarable Device (ARWED) for training of post-stroke patients, allowing, for example, the user to perceive an impaired arm as healthy. Preliminary training protocols, incorporated within the ARWED, make the system a reliable solution that is expected to be broadly utilized by medical professionals working in rehabilitation, sports therapy ,and convalescence. Although the ARWED has been developed mainly for the physical training of post-stroke patients, the project's explorations are expected to provide effective tools for the physical rehabilitation of patients with limb limitations at any scale -- ranging from individuals suffering partial loss of motor ability to those with severe limitations in mobility due to strokes, birth defects or accidents. Since observational learning may offer greater benefits regarding transfer to Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), in comparison to robotic-based stroke training, the medical community would also benefit from the development of the ARWED. Insights into how training using technology may enhance the recovery of motor control in diverse populations while providing a novel intervention that may prove more effective than what is currently available. This I-Corps project centers on exploiting the link between action-observation and action execution in order to develop training protocols, based on observational learning techniques, to facilitate rehabilitation following a neurological disorder. Such a disorder may range from such catastrophic events as stroke or a spinal cord injury. Currently, there are limited systems that utilize virtual reality in the relearning of biological movements. The development of the ARWED required solving several challenges in computer vision, modeling, and robot motion. The current testing of the effectiveness of the device requires combined expertise from the areas of biomechanics, signal analysis, virtual reality, robotic fault recovery theory and rehabilitation. Therefore, the theoretical contributions emerging from this collaborative research is expected to advance knowledge and understanding not only within the medical field, but also across the above-mentioned research areas. The multidisciplinary nature of the research will lead to the education of undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of Engineering, Medicine and Kinesiology, among others. The outcomes of the project will facilitate a dialogue between Physical/Occupational Therapy and Engineering students and professionals that can aid in the human recovery following neurological disorders efforts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.