Handheld Sensor System for Home Rehabilitation Progress Tracking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Stroke survivors face challenges in continuing rehabilitation exercises at home due to lack of engagement and absence of quantitative or qualitative progress monitoring, leading to motivation issues and declines in motor functions.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising wireless user interface devices and exercise software that guides and monitors home rehabilitation exercises, using sensors to track performance and provide feedback, allowing for real-time data analysis and progress assessment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If patients perform home therapy exercises independently without specialized equipment or assistance, then patients can continue therapy at home, but the exercises are not engaging and patients lose motivation
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides real-time feedback to patients through the computing device, displaying quantitative metrics such as range of motion, exercise completion accuracy, and progress toward therapy goals. This feedback mechanism maintains patient engagement and motivation by allowing them to track their improvements objectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical measurement and therapist observation with electronic sensors and computing devices that automatically quantify exercise performance. The system uses computer vision, accelerometers, and other sensors to objectively measure therapy progress, eliminating the need for manual assessment.
2Ease of operation
If patients perform home therapy exercises without quantitative or qualitative measure of progress, then patients can exercise independently, but patients experience declines in motor functions
Solution Approach 1:
The system substitutes manual assessment with automated electronic measurement devices that objectively quantify motor function parameters. Sensors capture precise data on range of motion, exercise repetition accuracy, and movement patterns, providing reliable metrics to monitor motor function maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The computing device acts as an intermediary between the patient and the therapy progression monitoring. It collects data from various sensors, processes the information, and presents meaningful progress reports to both patients and therapists, enabling independent exercise while maintaining reliable progress tracking.
3Reliability
If intensive rehabilitation is provided in-patient for several weeks, then patients can regain lost function through neural reorganization, but the length of stay is limited and follow-up outpatient therapy is also limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables continuous rehabilitation training beyond the limited in-patient and outpatient therapy periods. Patients can perform therapy exercises daily at home with the system providing ongoing guidance and progress monitoring, ensuring continuous functional recovery without interruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows patients to continue therapy exercises that were initiated during in-patient rehabilitation at home, maintaining the momentum of functional recovery. The pre-programmed exercise routines and progress tracking continue the therapeutic action established during intensive in-patient care.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, an exercise system includes a user interface device sized and configured to fit within a user's hand, the user interface device including a microcontroller configured to control operation of the device, a first sensor configured to sense movements of the device, a second sensor configured to sense forces applied to the device, and a communication device configured to communicate data concerning the sensed movements and forces to a separate device.