I-Corps: Markerless biomechanical evaluation of musculoskeletal disorders to improve rehabilitation outcomes

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a technology to evaluate musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders to improve rehabilitation outcomes. Musculoskeletal disorders lower the quality of life for millions of affected individuals, result in increased national healthcare costs, and are a leading cause of lost workdays in the United States. The proposed technology may help patients with musculoskeletal disorders better understand the biomechanical root cause of their problem, inform their rehabilitation plan, and improve their recovery outcome. In addition, the proposed technology may improve the process for patient evaluation, patient outcomes, and reporting requirements for insurance reimbursement of healthcare providers. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a markerless biomechanical evaluation technology. The proposed technology is designed to automate the collection, analysis, and reporting of biomechanical data for patients with musculoskeletal disorders. The technology uses a markerless motion capture camera device (hardware) along with corresponding analysis and reporting software to provide actionable biomechanical evaluations to patients with lower back pain, lower limb musculoskeletal disorders, and general musculoskeletal disorders to improve rehabilitation outcomes. Patients are recorded and the video is processed using computer vision algorithms that generate virtual biomarkers identifying the patient’s body position and joint angles. This information may be used for biomechanical analysis to identify movement deficiencies and may provide insight into finding the root cause of the patient’s pain and create the foundation for actionable reporting. 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.