Online

Stevens, Timothy

Computer Science

2019

M.S.

We describe the development of a cyber-physical system (Rehab Tracker) for improving patient compliance with at-home physical rehabilitation using neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) therapy. Rehab Tracker consists of three components: 1) hardware modifications to sense and store use data from an FDA-approved NMES therapy device and provide Bluetooth communication capability, 2) an iOS-based smartphone/tablet application to receive and transmit NMES use data and serve as a conduit for patient-provider interactions and 3) a back-end server platform to receive device use data, display compliance data for provider review and provide automated positive and remedial push notifications to patients to improve compliance. This system allows for near real-time compliance monitoring via a secure web portal and offers a novel conduit for patient-provider communication during at-home rehabilitation to improve compliance. The system was tested in patients (n=5) who suffered anterior cruciate ligament rupture and surgical repair to provide proof-of-principal evidence for system functionality and an initial assessment of system usability. The system functioned as designed, recording 89% of rehabilitation sessions. Thus, Rehab Tracker is a functionally correct system with the potential to be used as a tool for studying NMES and mobile communication methodologies at scale and improving compliance with at-home rehabilitation programs.