Wearable Mobility Monitoring for People with Disabilities

Graduate student positions available for WMMS development, evaluation (able-bodied, elderly, amputee, hemiplegia groups), and automated methods for wearable video analysis. Applicants must be eligble for the Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Biomedical Engineering or Human Kinetics (Biomechanics). Email Edward Lemaire for information.

Mobility is the ability to move independently from one point to another. For people with physical disabilities, mobility deficits negatively impact quality of life and health status. For this population, mobility includes walking on various terrains, using a wheelchair, driving, negotiating stairs and ramps, etc. Optimizing mobility enhances independence, reduces isolation, promotes participation, and improves quality of life. Healthcare providers need to understand and evaluate how a person moves in order to make optimal clinical decisions. Ideally, mobility can be evaluated unobtrusive as the person proceeds through the activities of daily living (ADL). This can be achieved with a Wearable Mobility Monitoring System (WMMS) that the person wears while going about their daily life. Movement is logged throughout the day and thus provides the healthcare provider with 'real-life' information on the person's mobility.

Our research uses the BlackBerry platform to develop WMMS devices that use new SmartPhone technology to analyze a person's mobility and then supply a healthcare provider with the appropriate mobility report. This system needs to be affordable, efficient, and user-friendly for healthcare consumers and professionals.

Successes

Developed a WMMS that uses the BlackBerry's built-in sensors to reduce hardware costs, bulk, weight, and battery load.
Prototyped a "SmartHolster" for integrating wearable sensors into a form factor that interfaces well with Smartphone wireless communication
Use Smartphone image or video analysis to provide context for a person's mobility activities. For example, walking on carpet or grass, lighting quality, elevator use, etc.
TOHRC Data Logger, an easy to use tool for capturing sensor data from your BlackBerry and saving this information to the memory card. Download from BlackBerry AppWorld.
TOHRC WMMS Acc: TOHRC Wearable Mobility Monitor (WMMS) uses your BlackBerry’s accelerometer and GPS to determine the movement activities you are performing (walking, sitting, lying down, etc.). Download from BlackBerry AppWorld.

Current Projects

Apply new wearable sensors to enhance activity identification and classification categorize
Develop new algorithms to identify mobility change-of-state in realtime, with high accuracy and few false readings
Identification of a large range of activities of daily living (ADL)
System evaluation with people with mobility disabilities (amputee, hemiparesis, etc.)
Develop cloud-based reporting software for mobility analysis and mobility data presentation for efficient health care decision-making.