QUEEN'S BIOMEDICAL INNOVATION TEAM

Post-Stroke Hand Spasticity Mitigation

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As a common post-stroke condition, there are a variety of hand spasticity rehabilitation devices on the market today that target various severity levels of the disorder and utilize different rehab techniques, with the end goal of increasing range of motion and regaining the use of their hand. However, there still remains a lack of consensus on which forms of rehabilitation for post-stroke hand spasticity are most effective, and many devices can be impractical for use in everyday life. The team’s goal is to design a primarily mechanical device that solves one or more of these major issues.

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The team’s proposed solution is to redesign a dynamic hand splint to incorporate a network of sensors that monitor movement, time spent using the device, and applied assistive force, among other parameters. These sensors will hypothetically be able to monitor and quantify the rehabilitation process so that approaches can be tailored to treat specific individuals. The tracking of quantifiable metrics will allow for the device to be used outside of the clinic and away from the supervision of an Occupational Therapist (OT); OTs can assign exercises relating to the device for patients to complete at home, and analyse the recorded metrics at subsequent weekly or bi-weekly appointments. The OT will be able to use this data to track milestones, update exercise programs, and assess progress. The dynamic splint component will help the user to extend the muscles of the hand by providing an assistive extensor force for the wrist and fingers. It will also include a locking mechanism that can lock the splint in various positions in order to incorporate the benefits of static splinting and further prevent muscle contracture and soft tissue shortening.

Accessible Pregnancy Care Team

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Through communication with patients, nurses, technologists, obstetricians and researchers of health and disability, it has been identified that women with disabilities are subjected to an absence of leg and hip support during transvaginal ultrasounds. For a transvaginal ultrasound to be performed, the doctor or technologist must have access to the woman’s pelvic region with an unconstrained vertical range of motion for the ultrasound probe. To meet these requirements, women have the option to raise their legs with their pelvic region at the end of the ultrasound table or raise their hips off the table. Physical disabilities vary drastically in terms of the range of mobility and comfort, resulting in unique leg positioning for each woman and, regularly, an inability to lift their hips off the ultrasound table.

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A need for a device to raise the hips of women and a device to support the thighs and calves of women with disabilities during transvaginal ultrasounds is required to aid in the prevention of preterm delivery and improve obstetrical and gynecological care experiences. The devices must be adjustable to accommodate the needs of women with varying degrees of mobility, weights and hospital rooms. In addition, an educational system will need to be implemented with the devices. The education system should include information on proper care and accommodation of women with disabilities and applications to pregnancy, to improve experiences in clinical settings.

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The Accessible Care Pregnancy Clinic at Sunnybrook Hospital is a clinic specifically designed to meet the needs of pregnant women with disabilities. The problem presented of lack of leg and hip support for transvaginal ultrasounds was presented through contact with the clinic, by Dr. Anne Berndl and her coworkers, including nurses and technologists.

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Widely Accessible and Secure Pill Dispenser 

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The current general objective for this project is to design and develop a more accessible container for patients to store their prescription medications. Current designs for prescription medication containers are equipped with child safety mechanisms that while being effective to protect children, can also pose real difficulties for those afflicted with a number of different disabilities. Although there are many easy-to-open containers on the market, these alternatives defeat the purpose of the original designs and compromise safety for improved usability.

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The vision for this project is to develop an alternative to conventional prescription medication containers which will focus on accessibility for those with disabilities without compromising on security. The disabilities identified thus far which will be primarily targeted with the design will be motor impairments (arthritis, Parkinson’s, etc.), vision impairment, and to a lesser extent memory impairment. The final selected design will incorporate elements to aid with the specific difficulties caused by each of these impairments and will ensure that a patient’s medication packaging will never get in the way of them receiving their potentially lifesaving medication. Aside from accessibility, the secondary functional improvement of the selected design over conventional containers will be improved security against unauthorized access to medications through fingerprint security. This secondary functionality will serve to protect medications which possess the potential for abuse or theft such as prescription opioids.

App for Post Concussion Syndrome Mitigation

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This project aims to mitigate the symptoms and negative quality of life impacts associated with Post Concussion Syndrome (PCS). The concept for the project is to develop an app that helps individuals monitor their tolerances regarding physical activity and symptoms through measuring and monitoring heart rate. The app will also provide additional information that the individual can use for activity recommendations.

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The target audience of the app is youth athletes, however, any individual will be able to access the app. The goal of the project is to enable individuals with PCS to return to activity without experiencing severe symptoms and provide documentation for the user and health care professionals.