UW Undergraduate’s Research Leads to Invention of Technology for Telerehabilitation | News - University of Wyoming News

October 28, 2022

Working successful a University of Wyoming laboratory six years ago, undergraduate machine subject pupil Russell Todd, of Baggs, sought to merge a state-of-the-art virtual-reality strategy with a cutting-edge motion-capture strategy to recognize human-computer interaction.

Little did Todd cognize astatine the time, but helium and his colleagues successful the Perception-Action-Cerebral-Executive (PACE) laboratory would not lone assistance make a breakthrough telerehabilitation exertion -- which could beryllium utilized to dainty and rehabilitate patients remotely -- but Todd himself would co-found a startup institution to marketplace this exertion successful divers wellness sectors passim Wyoming.

Starting successful 2017, probe enactment provided by the Wyoming Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), Wyoming IDeA Networks for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) and the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium enabled Todd to enactment with Qin “Arthur” Zhu, a prof successful the UW Division of Kinesiology and Health successful the College of Health Sciences, to research the anticipation of integrating an electromagnetic-based motion-capture strategy with a virtual world (VR) system. The extremity was to render VR enactment with real-time motion-tracking capableness to survey the effects of 3D ocular illusion connected reach-to-grasp question successful an immersive VR environment.

Their efforts resulted successful a bundle programme receiving a registered copyright titled “Software Rendering Real-time Motion Tracking Using Body-attached Sensors successful Virtual Reality,” and a just-granted patent, “Motion Tracking Synchronization successful Virtual Reality Spaces,” done the UW Technology Transfer Office.

Many wellness attraction providers and their patients successful Wyoming and different agrarian states person recovered that utilizing telehealth to measure and dainty patients tin regenerate oregon minimize traveling agelong distances, particularly during winter. The accidental of telerehabilitation emerged with the exertion created by Todd and his probe team. A therapist present has the tools to analyse and show a diligent virtually -- interacting with the diligent successful existent clip portion receiving augmented accusation regarding the prime and relation of the diligent movement.

“It is antithetic and singular for Russell, an undergraduate pupil successful machine science, to measurement retired of his comfortableness portion and enactment with me, a module subordinate successful kinesiology, connected a probe task that is transdisciplinary and meaningful for quality health,” Zhu says. “I enjoyed moving with a pupil who besides is simply a collaborator, due to the fact that large ideas often look with shared involvement and associated effort.”

In 2018, MoVE LLC was founded with Zhu arsenic president and co-founder, on with Todd arsenic main exertion serviceman and co-founder. A twelvemonth later, Derek Smith, an subordinate prof and manager of the Division of Kinesiology and Health, besides joined MoVE arsenic CEO.

“Working with Dr. Zhu has been a transformative experience, and I surely property the explosive maturation of MoVE to his unthinkable enactment ethic,” Todd says. “It’s 1 happening for maine to stitch unneurotic respective emerging technologies to marque thing novel, but it took the bolt of lightning that is Dr. Zhu to bring that instauration to life.”

The travel of creating and implementing their telerehabilitation strategy -- to measure and dainty patients with wounded oregon different impediments to carnal question -- was an progressive process with enactment of the university, arsenic good arsenic determination and nationalist backing agencies. A progression of probe projects and their backing sources starring up the last merchandise include: 

-- 2018: A task titled “Real-time Motion Tracking successful 3D Immersive Virtual Reality for Tele-Rehabilitation” was funded by the Wyoming Small Business Development Center.

-- 2019: A task titled “Validating a Novel System with Real-time Interaction and Motion Tracking successful Immersive VR for Telerehabilitation” was funded by Wyoming INBRE and a CTR-IN: Developmental Translational Team Grant.

-- 2020: A task titled “Developing Real-time Interaction and Motion Tracking successful Immersive Virtual Reality for Telerehabilitation” was funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute connected Minority and Health Disparities done a Small Business Technology Transfer grant.

-- 2020: A task titled “Accelerated Telerehabilitation Infrastructure and Clinical Viability” was funded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury done the Wyoming Health and Bioscience Innovation Hub.

-- 2021: Research findings from 2017-18 projects were published successful Proceedings of IEEE VR, 2021 IEEE Conference connected Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces, titled “Temporal Availability of Ebbinghaus Illusions connected Perceiving and Interacting with 3D Objects successful a Contextual Virtual Environment.”

While commercialized availability of the telerehabilitation strategy to carnal therapists and their patients present successful Wyoming is inactive a mode off, Todd, Zhu and Smith are assured that, arsenic advancement continues, models of the exertion of this telerehabilitation strategy volition beryllium disposable for nationalist dissemination soon. This volition beryllium 1 measurement person to providing carnal therapists passim Wyoming with precocious tools for rehabilitation attraction they request to supply attraction for face-to-face visits successful the clinic.

Now, arsenic a doctoral pupil co-mentored by Amy Banic, an subordinate prof of electrical engineering and machine science, and Zhu successful kinesiology and health, Todd is continuing his probe to research ways of integrating VR with different sensor technologies truthful that the developed exertion tin wide service those stakeholders of telehealth. Correspondingly, MoVE LLC is successful its 2nd circular of fundraising for continuous probe and development, arsenic good arsenic commercialization of its product.   

About the College of Health Sciences

UW’s College of Health Sciences trains wellness and wellness professionals and researchers successful a wide assortment of disciplines, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, connection disorders, societal work, kinesiology, assemblage and nationalist health, and disablement studies.

The assemblage besides oversees residency and fellowship programs successful Casper and Cheyenne, arsenic good arsenic operating superior attraction and speech/hearing clinics successful Laramie, Casper and Cheyenne. With much than 1,600 undergraduate, postgraduate and nonrecreational students, the assemblage is dedicated to grooming the wellness and wellness workforce of Wyoming and conducting high-quality probe and assemblage engagement, with a peculiar absorption connected agrarian and frontier populations.