MIT researchers seek to 'see' inside the body during rehab - Medical Design & Outsourcing

Researchers astatine the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed an unsupervised carnal rehabilitation system.

MuscleRehab came from researchers astatine MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

Together, they combined 3 ingredients: question tracking, imaging and virtual world (VR). The question tracking captures question activity. The electrical impedance tomography (EIT) imaging method measures what muscles are doing. Finally, a VR headset and tracking suit lets users ticker themselves execute alongside a carnal therapist.

In a quality release, MIT described its all-black tracking suit arsenic “sleek” and “ninja-esque.” The VR captures 3D question data. The idiosyncratic performs assorted exercises that measurement the enactment of their quadriceps, sartorius, hamstrings, and adductors.

The researchers provided 2 conditions successful a virtual environment. Both featured workout show alongside a carnal therapist. In the archetypal situation, lone question tracking information overlays onto the diligent avatar. In the second, the diligent uses EIT sensing straps and they person each accusation for their question and musculus engagement.

In comparing the workout accuracy betwixt some conditions, a nonrecreational therapist received the results and explained which musculus groups were expected to beryllium engaged during each of the exercises. By visualizing some musculus engagement and question information alternatively of question alone, the wide accuracy of exercises improved by 15%, MIT said.

The squad besides conducted a cross-comparison of however overmuch clip during the exercises the close musculus radical was triggered betwixt the 2 conditions. By monitoring and signaling astir engagement data, carnal therapists reported a “much amended understanding” of the prime of the patient’s exercise. This helped to amended measure their existent authorities and workout based connected the stats.

“We wanted our sensing script to not beryllium constricted to a objective setting, to amended alteration data-driven unsupervised rehabilitation for athletes successful wounded recovery, patients presently successful carnal therapy, oregon those with carnal limiting ailments, to yet spot if we tin assistance with not lone recovery, but possibly prevention,” said Junyi Zhu, MIT CSAIL PhD pupil and pb writer connected a insubstantial astir MuscleRehab. “By actively measuring heavy musculus engagement, we tin observe if the information is abnormal compared to a patient’s baseline, to supply penetration into the imaginable musculus trajectory.”

According to MIT, existent sensing technologies mostly absorption connected tracking behaviors and bosom rates. Zhu and the squad aimed to find a amended mode to consciousness engagement successful antithetic layers of the muscles compared to electromyography (EMG). EMG lone captures musculus enactment close beneath the tegument unless done invasively, MIT noted.

EIT, usually utilized for monitoring lung function, detecting thorax tumors and diagnosing pulmonary embolism, hadn’t been utilized for this intent before, Zhu found.

Now, the EIT sensing committee serves arsenic the “brains” down the MuscleRehab system. Two straps filled with electrodes gaffe onto a user’s precocious thigh to seizure 3D volumetric data. Motion capturing, utilizing OptiTrack, utilizes 39 markers and a fistful of cameras to consciousness precocious framework rates per second. The information showed actively triggered muscles highlighted connected the display, with a fixed musculus increasing darker with much engagement.

Currently, MuscleRehab focuses connected the precocious thigh and the large musculus groups inside. The researchers purpose to grow to the glutes.

“This enactment advances EIT, a sensing attack conventionally utilized successful objective settings, with an ingenious and unsocial operation with virtual reality,” said Yang Zhang, adjunct prof successful electrical & machine engineering, UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. “The enabled exertion that facilitates rehabilitation perchance has a wide interaction crossed nine to assistance patients behaviour carnal rehabilitation safely and efficaciously astatine home. Such tools to destruct the request for objective resources and unit person agelong been needed for the deficiency of workforce successful healthcare.”