A group of researchers from the Ramón y Cajal Institute of Health Research (IRYCIS), in Madrid, has developed a Physiotherapy system supported by artificial intelligence (AI) for the recovery of hip fractures, called "Fisio-ACTIVA".
The project, whose technological aspect will be implemented by specialists from the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) under the direction of the professor of Biomedical Engineering, Norberto Malpica, aims to optimize the rehabilitation of fragile elderly people after a surgical intervention for this type of injury.
From the academic institution, they explain that the AI solution is based on the detection and tracking of patients' movements during rehabilitation sessions. To this end, a comprehensive application is being tested that will facilitate patient motivation in real-time during therapy in the hospital, as well as subsequent biomechanical analysis, with the possibility that, later on, this technology could also be used at home.
"This tool uses computer image analysis to supervise rehabilitation exercises in real-time using conventional video cameras, providing supervision and motivation through AI systems without the need for additional sensors," they specified, emphasizing that the study will be carried out in the Geriatrics Service of the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid.
Clinical trial with elderly patients
The system will be evaluated in a clinical trial with 48 patients over 70 years old treated in the Orthogeriatrics Unit of the center, always under the direct supervision of a healthcare professional. The principal investigator will be the physiotherapist Verónica Ocaña, a member of the department and associated clinical research staff of IRYCIS, who will have the collaboration, as principal co-investigator, of Dr. Manuel Mejía, a member of the Geriatrics Service and a researcher of the Geriatrics group (area 5 of IRYCIS).
The project will also involve Mónica Barbero, Teresa Emilia Fernández, Alicia Seco, Ana Isabel Rodríguez, Esperanza Macarena Díaz, María Tamargo, Katherine Coutinho, and Julia Fernández, representing IRYCIS, the Rehabilitation Service of the hospital, and URJC.