I-Corps: An Artificial Intelligence-Driven Wearable Sensor-Based System for Precision Rehabilitation

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of technology to detect, treat, and monitor aberrant gait biomechanics in patients with or at risk for lower extremity osteoarthritis. The central technological innovation is to provide clinicians and their patients the capability to detect atypical walking force profiles, deploy precision biofeedback treatments to optimize joint health, and monitor gait to maintain healthy movement profiles. Lower extremity osteoarthritis is the 11th leading cause of global disability. In the US alone, individuals with OA spend nearly $4.8 billion more in out-of-pocket healthcare costs than those without osteoarthritis. There is no cure for osteoarthritis and rehabilitation options for preventing disease onset and/or mitigating progression remain critically limited. Proper gait biomechanics act to distribute forces across lower extremity joint surfaces and thereby preserve joint function and tissue health. Unfortunately, current clinical options are not capable of optimizing the lower extremity joint forces critical to maintain healthy joint tissues and prevent the development and slow the progression of osteoarthritis.This I-Corps project is based on the development of technology with the ability to detect and modify aberrant forces during walking and positively influence joint mechanics and biology. Not detecting, treating, and monitoring aberrant gait biomechanics in osteoarthritis patients leads to potentially devastating health and financial consequences. To overcome these limitations, the team developed a low-cost and clinically-feasible wearable sensor-based system that leverages artificial intelligence and cloud computing to replace sophisticated research-grade equipment to detect, treat, and monitor aberrant lower extremity forces that lead to OA onset and progression. The system includes a user interface capable of providing previously inaccessible data on lower extremity forces to patients and their care providers, and deploying patient-centered biofeedback treatments.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.