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

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是基于增强现实可穿戴设备（ARWED）的特点，用于训练中风后患者，例如，允许用户将受损的手臂视为健康。ARWED中包含的初步培训协议使该系统成为一种可靠的解决方案，预计将被康复、运动疗法和康复领域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，但该项目的探索预计将为任何规模的肢体限制患者的身体康复提供有效的工具-从患有部分运动能力丧失的个人到因中风，出生缺陷或事故而严重限制活动的人。由于与基于机器人的中风训练相比，观察性学习可能在转移到日常生活活动（ADL）方面提供更大的益处，因此医学界也将从ARWED的开发中受益。深入了解使用技术的训练如何增强不同人群的运动控制恢复，同时提供一种可能比目前可用的更有效的新型干预措施。这个I-Corps项目的中心是利用行动观察和行动执行之间的联系，以开发基于观察学习技术的训练方案，以促进神经系统疾病后的康复。这种疾病的范围可能从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综合专业知识。因此，这项合作研究所产生的理论贡献不仅有望在医学领域内，而且还将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，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士之间的对话，可以帮助人类恢复神经系统疾病的努力。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

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.