PFI-TT: Smart Gloves for Remote Clinical Assessments and Treatment Monitoring

该创新技术转化伙伴关系（PFI-TT）项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是提高为帕金森病、中风、关节炎和手部受伤或其他疾病等运动障碍患者提供的护理质量。帕金森病（PD）在美国的患病率非常高。到2020年，PD将影响近93万人，预计到2030年将增加到120万人。通过将可穿戴技术用于临床有效的运动评估，医生可以利用远程医疗工具为患者提供更优化的护理计划，而无需增加定期门诊的次数。患者也将受益于可以在家中进行的友好指导的日常锻炼。这些练习的量化结果将以一种有助于患者了解药物效果的方式提供给他们，并将为医生提供数据，以告知有关药物变化的决定。拟议的技术产品旨在提高效率并降低医疗成本。拟议项目旨在研究开发智能纺织品，适用于临床有效的运动状况医学筛查，特别是帕金森病。智能纺织品制造面临着几个障碍和技术障碍，包括在传统织物中集成导电材料以及智能纺织品的耐洗性和耐久性。此外，材料和构造方法的选择对智能纺织传感器的灵敏度、可重复性、准确性和精度有很大影响。拟议的项目旨在通过两个目标来应对这些挑战：1）AIM 1专注于智能纺织传感器的设计和验证。这项活动涉及与神经科医生，医务人员和PD患者合作的一系列开发和实验，他们将共同参与智能手套的设计。2)AIM 2将围绕创建一个智能手套的佩戴者友好的设计为中心。其目的是研究如何在现有的制造设施和工艺中大规模制造智能纺织品的复杂结构（由于电路，导电线和层以及基础织物）。该项目直接建立在NSF支持的基础研究发现之上。该奖项反映了NSF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 Partnerships for Innovation-Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to enhance the quality of care provided to patients with movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, stroke, arthritis, and hand injuries or other conditions. Parkinson's disease (PD) alone has a very high prevalence in the US. PD will affect nearly 930,000 people by 2020 and is projected to increase to 1.2 Million by 2030. Through the incorporation of wearable technology for clinically valid movement assessment, doctors can utilize telemedicine tools to provide a more optimized care plan to their patients without increasing the number of regular clinic visits. The patients will benefit as well through a friendly guided exercise routine that can be performed at home. The quantified results of the exercises will be given to the patients in a way that will help them understand the effects of medications and will provide data to doctors to inform decisions about medication changes. The proposed technology product aims to improve efficiency and reduce the cost for medical treatments. The proposed project aims to pursue research on developing smart textiles that are appropriate for clinically-valid medical screening of movement conditions especially those seen in Parkinson's disease. Smart textile fabrication faces several roadblocks and technical barriers including the integration of conductive material in conventional fabric and washability and durability of smart textiles. In addition, the selection of materials and construction methods significantly impacts the sensitivity, repeatability, accuracy, and precision of smart textile sensors. The proposed project aims to address these challenges through two aims: 1) AIM 1 focuses on design and validation of smart textile sensors. This activity involves a series of developments and experiments in collaboration with neurologists, medical personnel, and patients with PD who will jointly participate in the design of the proposed smart gloves. 2) AIM 2 will be centered around creating a manufacturer-friendly design of the smart gloves. The aim is to investigate how the complex structure of smart textiles (due to electrical circuits, conductive threads and layers, and base fabric) can be made at scale within existing fabrication facilities and processes. This project builds directly from fundamental research discovery supported by the NSF.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.