Assistive Technologies

布莱克博士的研究计划通过开发辅助技术来帮助个人控制他们的骨关节炎疼痛，从而解决了骨关节炎非手术治疗的迫切需求。骨关节炎是加拿大境内导致残疾的主要原因之一，到2030年，估计将影响18.6%的人口，每年直接和间接成本超过70亿美元。布莱克博士的研究计划将专注于辅助技术研究的整个生命周期：(1)确定社区中个人的需求，(2)开发技术，以及(3)验证技术在用户研究中的应用。该研究计划将集中在三个主要的辅助技术开发上：(1)用于下肢物理康复的增强现实，(2)用于步态康复的eWearables，以及(3)用于手部骨关节炎康复的移动设备应用程序开发。开发的各种辅助技术的目标是为用户提供指导，在运动和步行过程中调整他们的位置，以最好地加强他们的肌肉或改变他们的生物力学来减少疼痛。所有辅助技术都将为用户提供对其表现的持续反馈，以确保用户适当地调整自己。布莱克实验室的HQP将培养增强现实和移动设备应用程序开发方面的技能，包括用行业标准语言编写这些应用程序的代码。HQP将学习医疗设备开发方面的宝贵技能，以及如何与设备用户和临床医生互动，以开发具有广泛采用潜力并能够影响骨关节炎患者生活的技术。这项研究将专注于可远程部署的技术开发，克服获得骨关节炎管理服务的障碍。布莱克博士将与维多利亚大学的CANASSIST密切合作，该组织在开发和部署辅助技术方面有过往记录，以确保布莱克博士实验室的辅助技术最好地满足患有骨关节炎的社区成员的需求。

Dr. Black's research program addresses the pressing need for non-surgical management of osteoarthritis by developing assistive technology to help individuals manage their osteoarthritic pain. Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability within Canada, estimated to impact 18.6% of the population and cost over $7 billion per year in direct and indirect costs by 2030. Dr. Black's research program will focus on the entire lifecycle of assistive technology research by: (1) identifying the needs of individuals in the community, (2) developing the technology, and (3) validating the technology application in user studies. The research program will focus on three main assistive technology development thrusts: (1) augmented reality for lower limb physical rehabilitation, (2) eWearables for gait rehabilitation, and (3) mobile device app development for hand osteoarthritis rehabilitation. The goal of the various assistive technology developed is to provide guidance for users to adjust their positioning during exercises and walking to best strengthen their muscles or alter their biomechanics to reduce pain. All assistive technology will be designed to provide users with constant feedback on their performance, to ensure users are adjusting themselves appropriately. HQP in Dr. Black's lab will develop skills in augmented reality and mobile device application development, including coding of these applications in industry standard languages. HQP will learn valuable skills in medical device development and how to interact with device users and clinicians to develop technology with the potential for widespread adoption and the ability to impact the lives of people affected by osteoarthritis. The research will focus on technology development that can be deployed remotely, overcoming the barriers of access to services for osteoarthritis management. Dr. Black will collaborate closely with CanAssist at the University of Victoria, an organization with a track record for developing and deploying assistive technology, to guarantee that the assistive technology in Dr. Black's lab best addresses the needs of community members suffering from osteoarthritis.