Overview • Battelle is the world’s largest non-profit research and development company focused on translational science and technology • The Neurotechnology group at Battelle is developing leading-edge technologies to aid in the recovery of nervous system injuries and address the resulting physical impairments • The Interactive Activities of Daily Living Assistance Device is one such technology intended to provide post-brain injury sequencing and organization rehabilitation
Problem Statement • Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in the U.S. among children and young adults and an estimated 5.3 million Americans currently live with a TBI-related disability • Many patients living with TBI are unable to interact with objects of daily living to perform instrumental activities of daily living (iADL) • The current state of the art for TBI rehabilitation is occupational therapist (OT) guided exercises, however, OT time is limited by insurance reimbursement, so patients do not often reach their recovery potential • The Interactive Activities of Daily Living Assistance Device will revolutionize the current practice by providing additional therapy to post-brain injury patients and quantitively monitoring progress during rehabilitation both in the clinic and/or home environment without the need for an OT
Solution/Technology • The Interactive Activities of Daily Living Assistance Device uses object recognition and interactive software to guide post-brain injury patients through iADL and other sequencing/organization tasks, providing therapy • The device is comprised of two main components: 1. Cameras that record user interactions with objects common to iADL 2. A laptop tablet that processes images in real-time, detects and evaluates object states, and provides appropriate feedback to the user • How it Works 1. Images of the workspace are captured 2. Images are processed, and the locations and states of the objects are predicted using machine learning algorithms 3. Performance is evaluated, and a virtual assistant provides feedback to the user and prompts the next step • Stage of Development: A beta version of the device has been developed and is currently being tested with patients living with mild to severe TBI in a small feasibility case study at The Ohio State University Medical Center • Next Steps: We plan to further optimize the device, introduce additional iADL modules, and test in a larger clinical study focused on rehabilitation outcomes
Competition/Competitive Advantage • Our device is advantageous relative to the competition because it involves closed-loop biofeedback technology where the patients directly interact with real objects of daily living • Visual Impact 3 – App that provides step-by-step instructions to TBI patients Weakness: Is unable to assess how the patient is interacting with the objects • HoloLens Solution (Aruanno et al., 2018) – Virtual assistant for iADL Weakness: Patients do not interact with real objects, depriving them from critical tactile feedback
Sales and Marketing • The Ohio State University has expressed great interest in the device and partnered with us to conduct a clinical study in 2020 • A provisional patent has been filed and Battelle plans to eventually license the technology
