AUDITOR is a light, compact, innovative and smart robot for the three-dimensional rehabilitation of the upper limbs in people with motor difficulties. Equipped with a sensorized area capable of interpreting the patient’s motor intentions, it is especially designed for self- and tele-treatment in the home. With the help of a secure cloud platform, it is possible to manage virtual medical records, promptly remodel therapy and perform fast and timely analyzes. A score attributed to the individual sessions allows you to monitor the patient’s progress.
Patent Status
PENDING
Priority Number
102020000003563
Priority Date
20/02/2021
License
INTERNATIONAL
Market
The global rehabilitation equipment market size was valued at $ 12.9B in 2020 and will reach $ 16.6B by 2025, with a CAGR of 5.2% (Global Forecast, 2020). This growth is mainly driven by the increase in the elderly population and the incidence of chronic diseases. AUDITOR is positioned in clinic / rehabilitation center and specialists (for Italy TAM 1.67B €; SAM 1.3B €; SOM 67M € in 5 years) and private users (for Italy TAM 29.4B € ; SAM 5.88B €; SOM 29.4M € in 5 years) segments. This last segment is still unexplored.
Problem
The rehabilitation robotic field is rapidly evolving in developing novel solutions for assisted therapy, especially of the elderly and the chronically ill. There are numerous exoskeletal systems designed by mechanical engineers for the rehabilitation of the upper limbs, already available on the market and used by the rehabilitation centers / specialists. However, these systems have a number of drawbacks that prevent an active, continuous, prolonged, interactive and effective rehabilitation path. It is also worth considering that for patients with poor motor mobility reaching the clinic to carry out rehabilitation sessions may be uncomfortable and expensive, requiring often the help of a family member. It is therefore necessary to implement an home care system that help simplifying both the patient and the therapist and optimizing the rehabilitation period, especially for severely ill patients such as post-stroke patients. Finding a solution to this problem is urgent, given a number of factors such as the aging of the population, the incidence of chronic diseases and, last but not least, the COVID emergency.
Current Technology Limits
The existing rehabilitation robotic systems, although very effective, do not allow prolonged and demanding therapy sessions as well as a continuous support from the therapist. Their construction scheme is often complex making difficult both the execution and the guidance of the movements of the upper limb. The competitive analysis shows that 1) despite their complexity, NOT all current systems allow a three-dimensional manipulation of the upper limb; 2) despite their ability to measure the performance of the therapy session, none of them is interconnected with or integrate all information into a Cloud platform and 3) none is able to use physical and biometric parameters to modulate the therapy itself. The complexity of this type of systems, their weight and the absence of some advanced features represent therefore the main drawbacks of existing robotic systems.
Killer Application
Our Technology and Solutions
ADIUTOR is an innovative device designed on the basis of a Delta-type robotic structure, whose dimensional synthesis is aimed at exceeding the performance of the current bulky and expensive commercial solutions, guaranteeing three degrees of mobility and a reduction in construction complexity. Unlike existing systems, the limb is placed in a area with a number of sensors able to acquire the three-dimensional load imprinted by the limb. The patient can perform all movements in the workspace and be assisted by the robot to follow a trajectory as well as perform free movements with lightening of the limb weight. ADIUTOR can be easily integrated into interactive visual environments to enhance and stimulate user interaction. The device is equipped with advanced AI and Cloud-based remote monitoring features, that allows the therapist to promptly remodel the rehabilitation program, assist him remotely, keep her/his attention high, manage virtual medical records, perform faster and more accurate analyses. The session evaluation algorithms allow the patient to have an objective evaluation data on her/his progress and the therapist to readjust the rehabilitation process. Using two devices, patient and therapist will therefore be able to perform remote therapy by sharing feedback through the robot, a feature that current systems do not have.
Advantages
Interactivity:
Compactness and lightness:
Patient Monitoring:
Roadmap
Up to now, the team has built two device prototypes, a physical control hardware, a software and a user interface. The spin-off company, founded by the team in 2021, has acquired the license of the technology covered by the Italian patent application extended abroad. The company is going to build, within the next 24 months, the BASIC version of Auditor for private users, along with test campaigns and marketing actions, and, within next 36 months and through a crowdfunding campaign, its PRO version for clinics / rehabilitation centers and specialists, along with the release of the Cloud platform.
TRL
Team
