The project will develop a novel wearable computing system for use in physical therapy and rehabilitation exercises. Often patients undergoing physical therapy are prescribed a set of stretches and exercises to strengthen an injured muscle group. While outside of the doctor’s office, the physical therapist cannot observe if the activities are being performed correctly or if at all. Wearable computing solutions have been developed that will allow human activities to be recognized. However, current approaches are limited to specific arm and leg motions and not the broader set of activities that would be required in a general tool usable by medical practitioners. The project would leverage existing machine learning and human-computer interaction techniques to develop a custom wearable computing system tailored to rehabilitation exercises of a particular patient. This system would create positive patient outcomes by providing feedback to the patient and the physical therapist about the quantity and quality of therapy activities performed.
Publications from this work: - Megan Caulfield, Justin Blevins, Jason Forsyth “Tactile Instructions for Wearable Physical Rehabilitation”, Poster presentation at the 2023 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), Eau Claire WI link
Megan Caulfield, Jason Forsyth “Student Research Short: Wearable Computing for Physical Rehabilitation”, Presented at 2022 ACM Capital Region Celebration of Women in Computing (CAPWIC) (refereed as abstract)
Sophia Cronin, Tyler Webster, Jason Forsyth “Student Research Short: Wearable Computing for Physical Rehabilitation”, Presentation at 2021 ACM Capital Region Celebration of Women in Computing (CAPWIC) (refereed as abstract) link
Sanarea Ali, “Wearable Computing for Physical Rehabilitation”, at the 2019 ACM Capital Region Celebration of Women in Computing Conference (CAPWIC), March 23rd, 2019 link
Funding for the work:
JMU CISE Faculty Development Grant: J. Forsyth (PI), H. Kirkvold (Co-PI), “Designing Wearable Systems for Movement Correction in Physical Therapy Applications”, $3,900. Fall 2021
4-VA Grant: J. Forsyth (PI), T. Martin (Co-PI), “Designing Wearable Systems for Movement Correction in Physical Therapy Applications”, $5,000. Fall 2021
JMU CISE Mini Grant: J. Forsyth,“Prototyping Wearables for Physical Therapy”. $700. Spring 2021.
JMU CISE Faculty Development Grant: J. Forsyth (PI), M. Stewart (Co-PI), “A Wearable Computing System to Increase Access to Healthcare and Patient Outcomes in Physical Rehabilitation Exercises”. $2,500. Spring 2019.
