Emerging technologies in physical therapy and rehabilitation: 10 opportunities for health startups and clinicians

Prepared for HealthStartup.eu 5 on emerging technologies in physical therapy & rehabilitation.
October 8, Amsterdam http://bit.ly/hsu5about
Emerging Technologies in
Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation
10 opportunities
for health startups and clinicians
to make a difference
today

$849 billion
(or 7.7% U.S. GDP)
Estimated cost of musculoskeletal
injuries & diseases in the U.S., 2004

£ 8.9 billion
Estimated annual cost of treatment and
productivity loss caused by stroke in the UK.
Treatment costs account for approx. 5% of
total NHS costs.

The trouble
with physical
therapy is...

It takes a lot of time.
It requires lots of therapists.
It’s often painful & boring,
leading to poor compliance.
Image courtesy of http://www.rehabassociates.com/

Here’s
ways you can
make a difference
today
10

1
Automate exercise guidance
& progress monitoring

Researchers at the
University of
Southampton use
Microsoft Kinect to
help patients
recovering from a
stroke. A specially
devised algorithm
enables therapists to
remotely track
patients' hand and
finger movements and
guide them through
exercises.

Spain’s VirtualWare developed a ‘VirtualRehab’
system consisting of specialised games for the
Kinect and a control centre for clinicians. It enables
the clinician to plan exercises, monitor performance
and evaluate the progress of the therapy

Swiss startup YouRehab develops wearable interactive
therapy devices. YouGrabber enables training for
bimanual reaching and grabbing. YouKicker provides
training for leg and foot movements.

2
Improve motivation and
compliance through games

Dutch startup DoctorKinetic sells physiotherapy kits based
on Kinect and specialised physical therapy games, to
enhance motivation and fun factor

Lithuanian startup Devmotion develops therapeutic games
for children and transforms medical wards into virtual reality
environments

French startup Groupe Genious develops Voracy Fish, a
multiplayer serious game for physical rehabilitation of the
upper limb.

3
Change behaviour through
online digital coaching

Belgian startup
Brandnewhealth
develops digital
health coaching
programs addressing
8 health behaviour
domains (including
exercising, stress,
sleeping, weight etc)

4
Create more user-
friendly interfaces

Estonian startup
Cognuse develops
a cognitive
rehabilitation
system using
digital
‘BrainTraining’
exercises and a
dedicated
touchscreen
workstation.

5
Experiment with novel
interfaces to stimulate the
senses

Dutch startup
NYOYN creates
large interactive
sensory boards,
that stimulate the
senses (audio,
visual & tactile).
Used as
rehabilitation
tool for elderly
and people with
cognitive
disabilities

6
Enable home-based
therapy & exercises

Dutch startup Fysio24
offers live online
physiotheraphy
support.

German startup
KaasaHealth
develops
physiotherapy
software for the
iPad, PC and Wii
game console
(and Wii Balance
Board) for home-
based exercises

7
Enable clinical follow-up in a
systematic and viable way

Canadian startup Jintronix created a rehab system that
allows patients to do exercises at home using Kinect, while
their clinician is able to monitor progress and prescribe
additional exercises via a secure portal

The Mobile Health Unit
of the University of
Hasselt and Ziekenhuis
Oost Limburg in
Belgium have set up a
“clinical call center” to
support the
telemonitoring (&
rehabilitation) of
cardiac patients.
It consolidates and systematically monitors telemonitoring
data from various devices and applications (e.g.
pedometers, blood pressure, weight, heart rate,
medication) and it intervenes or alerts relevant clinicians
when necessary.

Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute FOKUS has developed a
telemedically assisted therapy and training environment
(based on Kinect) to reduce patients’ stay at clinics. It
includes a Smartphone linked mobile sensor unit to
measure vital signs such as pulse, oxygen saturation levels,
and (where applicable) ECG/EKG readings.The
physiotherapist monitors this data and can tailor therapy to
avoid dangerous levels of stress. (photo © Matthias Heyde/ Fraunhofer
FOKUS)

BrainControl uses a brain-computer interface technology
that interprets electrical signals corresponding with certain
brain activity and allows a computer to be controlled with
thoughts. Hence, it has potential as an assistive technology
for people suffering from ALS, Multiple Scleroris, people in
a locked-in state, etc

9
Use wearable technology to
detect and correct problems
on the fly

Launched with a KickStarter project, LUMOback is a
wearable sensor that alerts you when you’re slouching and
guides you (via the accompanying app) to a better posture

Researchers at the University of Utah developed a smart
shoe insole (called RapidRehab) to help people correct
their gait during rehabilitation. The device relies on force
sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, a wireless transmitter
and a smartphone app.

10
Improve diagnosis and
treatment by gathering more
data

A team at the Children’s
National Medical Center
in the U.S. are
experimenting with the
Kinect to help diagnose
and treat chronic pain
syndromes (which is
difficult to diagnose)

Mindmaze
combines motion
sensing, virtual
reality and brain
monitoring
technology for
stroke and brain
injury
rehabilitation

Need more inspiration?
Imagine
the potential of these
technologies in physical
therapy & rehabilitation...

Leap Motion Controller (an $80 consumer device) tracks
hand and finger movement in a small 3D space with a
claimed accuracy of 1/100th of a millimeter.

MYO armband (by Thalmic Labs) measures electrical
activity to detect fine movement from a wearer’s arm, which
lets the user wirelessly control a computer (and thus
anything else)

Shimmer is a small wireless sensor
platform that incorporates wireless
ECG, EMG, GSR, Accelerometer,
Gyro, Mag, GPS,Tilt and Vibration
sensors.

Microsoft’s new Xbox One Kinect can detect (or “see”)
your pulse, using a combination of the colour image feed
and the infrared sensor

Researchers at the University of Southern California use
Kinect to detect whether you are depressed, with 90%
accuracy rate

Wearable Games is a
graduation project by two
game design students that
integrates multiple
sensors (bend sensors,
heart rate) and feedback
tech (speakers, shakers,
LED screen) in a wearable
game platform.

Startup Virtuix takes
virtual reality to the
next level, allowing
gamers to move
naturally in a virtual
reality

Devices that
integrate
multiple sensors
and interfaces
Software for
changing
behaviour
(games and
digital
coaching)
Communication
networks &
tools
The #1 lesson: Look for the sweet spot as
four tech domains converge to transform
physical therapy and rehabilitation
Analytics & Big
Data

Consider
7
potential
challenges
3

1 Clinical validation
It is necessary
It takes time
It is expensive
How will you fund it?
Who will you partner with (startup
+ university + large tech/pharma)?

2 Clinical feedback loops
Clinicians won’t monitor alerts from
multiple devices & systems.
How will you make it easy,
convenient & secure for clinicians
to take part?
Work with clinicians, integrate with
their systems and interfaces.

3 Business model
Who will pay? (the answer will
differ from country to country)
Healthcare providers
Patients
Employers
Health insurance
Public health/government

Europe’s networking
conference for digital
health innovators.
Next event’s topic:
Emerging technologies in
physical therapy &
rehabilitation
Join us in Amsterdam on
October 8
http://bit.ly/hsu5about

Emerging technologies in physical therapy and rehabilitation: 10 opportunities for health startups and clinicians

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