Wearable Core Sensor for Real-Time Muscle Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tools and systems lack effectiveness in monitoring and providing feedback on core muscle contractions during exercises and daily movements, making it difficult for therapists and individuals to develop the habit of using core muscles to support the lumbosacral junction and lumbar spine, which is crucial for preventing and treating back pain.
Innovation Solution
A wearable device and companion system that uses sensors and algorithms to detect core muscle activity, provide real-time feedback, and track core muscle usage during exercises and daily activities, allowing for both in-session and out-of-session training to develop procedural memory for proper core support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If therapists manually monitor and provide feedback on core muscle contractions during exercises, then they can offer personalized guidance, but it is time-consuming and difficult to maintain consistently
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic monitoring of core muscle contractions through wearable sensors that detect muscle activity without requiring therapist intervention. The sensors continuously track core engagement during exercises and daily movements, providing objective data that reduces the need for manual assessment while maintaining measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time feedback to users about their core muscle engagement through the wearable device and companion application. This automated feedback mechanism allows users to immediately adjust their form and technique, enabling consistent monitoring without requiring continuous therapist presence or manual intervention.
2Measurement precision
If a comprehensive monitoring system is implemented to track core muscle usage during all exercises and daily movements, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The wearable device automatically monitors core muscle activity without requiring user intervention. The system passively collects data from sensors embedded in the wearable device, eliminating the need for users to manually track or report their core engagement, thereby maintaining ease of operation while achieving comprehensive monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The wearable device serves multiple functions: it monitors core muscle contractions during exercises, tracks daily movements, provides real-time feedback, and stores data for later analysis. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate tools into a single easy-to-use device.
3Productivity
If real-time feedback is provided to users during exercises, then core muscle usage habits are improved, but energy consumption and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides feedback at key moments during exercise repetitions rather than continuously. The sensors detect core muscle engagement and trigger feedback signals at appropriate intervals based on movement patterns, reducing overall energy consumption while maintaining effectiveness in developing core muscle habits.
Solution Approach 2:
The wearable device provides immediate feedback to users when core muscles are properly engaged or when form breakdown is detected. This targeted feedback approach uses energy efficiently by activating only when corrective information is needed, rather than operating continuously, thereby balancing productivity gains with energy conservation.
Data Source
AI summary
The system includes a movement sensor and a core contraction sensor in communication with a processor. The core contraction sensor is placed on the core muscles of a user and transmits core contraction signals to the processor. The processor receives movement signals from the movement sensor and identifies user movements that are qualifying movements that benefit from core contractions. The processor also monitors the timing between the qualifying movements and the core contractions to identify protected and unprotected qualifying movements. The system can also include a memory for storing core scores that are calculated from the protected and unprotected qualifying movements, exercise information and core sensor calibration information. The core contraction information can be used to calibrate the core contraction sensor. The core contraction and movement information can be transmitted to a therapist who can monitor the user's activities and provide instructional feedback.