Table of Contents
- Our mission is rooted in our name, iYashi stems from the Japanese word for healing. We believe everyone regardless of their race, ethnicity and financial barriers deserve to regain their mobility, as it is an extension of their humanity.
- At iYashi, we believe everyone has the right to good health, so we want to develop a device that helps restore motor functions for individuals who suffer from accidents. As many people are limited by financial constraints to visit an orthopedic specialist or continuous appointments with physiotherapists, we developed a low-cost device to provide therapy straight from one home.
- iYashi is a motorized rehabilitation device that aids individuals to regain their motor functions. iYashi works hand in hand to create personalized rehabilitation training for specific accidents, primarily caused by strokes and other nerve injuries.
- The demo device showcases a glove that makes resistive training for easy hand-based rehabilitation. This device connects to our UI-friendly app that allows patients to directly monitor their progress via visually friendly graphs from data taken from the device. A hand was chosen as the demo because it requires the most movement, however, this same concept can be applied to legs, arms, or any motor function.
- The device may provide exercises to target specific movements by altering tensions on varying fingers. In addition, it offers to strengthen the goal of having the patient resist the highest tension offered by the device. Lastly, it provides edema control by directly targeting their active motion.
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- Imagine you suddenly get into a car crash. In the United States, an average of $60 000 is spent on hospital bills, and now you need to pay for rehabilitation treatment to return to your everyday life. The average cost of outpatient stroke rehabilitation services and medications within the first year is $17,081 USD [1]. Also, taken in the mean day off time is 125 +/- 69 days [2] for these injuries and currently, 64% of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck [3].
- As Canadians with a public healthcare system in Canada, we are fortunate enough to have most of these costs covered. But imagine that you do not have health insurance, likely living in a dangerous area and working a blue-collar job more prone to injuries. Unfortunately, this nightmare is the reality for the majority of people around the world.
- Even in developed countries like the United States, almost 20% of the population is not covered by health insurance, accounting for almost 65 million residents! Now with an average income of $31,133 USD, major hospital bills, on top of rehabilitation treatment are next to impossible [6]! This situation is even worse for refugees, individuals in remote communities, and developing countries.
- For this reason, iYashi is passionate to create a more affordable and sustainable Rehabilitation system that can bring more equity to those who need it.
- Treatment of arm paresis is ranked among the top ten research priorities relating to life by stroke survivors, caregivers, and health professionals [4].
- Most arm and hand rehabilitation treatments are due to strokes, which is the leading cause of long-term disability among adults.
- Also, despite appropriate care and neurorehabilitation, over 60% of stroke survivors suffer from the incomplete recovery of motor functions, compromising their daily living.
- We want to create kits developed with medical professionals that cost a fraction of the cost of current treatments.
- iYashi uses high torque servo motors that control tensioning in strings to create resistance and support-based training to help regain motor functions. Studies have found that calculated progressive resistive motor training can create tremendous success in regaining motor functions.
- Our product is currently focused on rehabilitating hand and finger movements, since they are one of the highest ranked motor body parts needed for working and the most prone to injury.
- Causes for hand therapy for tendonitis, tendon injuries, hand fractures, wrist and elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger finger, tennis elbow, cumulative trauma, and all upper extremity trauma and injury [5].
- May begin as soon as 24 to 48 hours after a stroke.
- Early, personalized therapy improves the chance of recovery.
- Treatment will improve their range of motion, aid in rebuilding their strength and practice fine motor skills
- The device is not sufficient on a case-by-case basis, as some patients may require injections to help with spasticity, electrical stimulation therapy, or oral medications.
- When ordering from the website, the user will input the dimensions of their targeted body parts and the motor function they are having trouble with to receive a customized garment built just for them made from ethically sourced and sustainable materials. If additional help is needed, consultations will be conducted with a medical specialist.
- Next, the user will pay a low-cost monthly subscription fee to rent the device. The user will follow a personalized daily exercise plan and the device, connected to a smartphone, will track their progress. The device will communicate with the smartphone and store data using protocol buffers to serialize data for quick and secure communication.
- If the fee is too expensive, we plan on offering various financing options to ensure that our product is accessible to all. Our database will look at their personal information such as income, marital status, and several dependents and help them find funding to cover the cost of their treatment, through government funding, donors, NGOs, etc.
- We do understand that there may be language barriers Using Ethereum blockchain’s solidity-based smart contract, loans and subscriptions can be translated and placed in easier terms and translated to any language, so anyone can understand them. The blockchain network will also create an easier system to tally up donations from multiple donors.
- Work with doctors, governments, and hospitals to meet the third sustainable development goal by the United Nations: Good health and well-being.
- We will strive to work with the medical professionals, engineers, and leaders of industry to enhance this product’s functionality and expand its uses.
- This product offers lots of potential for investors, as it has applications in the $37 Billion Fitness Industry [7] and the $46.4 Physical Therapy Industry in the United States [8].
| Bill of Materials | |
|---|---|
| PLA | $1.91 - $5.99 |
| TPU | $1.21 - $4.29 |
| Servo Motor | $21.00 |
| Snapdragon Chip (400 series) | $17.96 |
| Miscellaneous (Wires, Circuitry, etc.) | $5.11 |
- Arduino
- Arduino was used for all the electrical components and a 20 kg servo motor was used to create tension.
- PID and Potentiometer for Position
- PID (proportional integral derivative) loop algorithms were used to create smooth and fluid motions of the motor and ensure that the motor never overshoots in tension and always keeps the user’s safety into consideration.
- Google Protocol Buffers
- Protocol buffers were implemented to allow fast and seamless data transfer between the rehabilitation glove and the front end.
- A message declaration was made for individual users, containing field types for their name, user ID, the resistance they are training at, and a timestamp of when they train. Each user is categorized into another message declaration, as a database for all iYashi users.
- When the users use their rehabilitation gloves, their user info and training resistances are automatically logged into the database.
- The data is serialized into a string, which will then be passed as an HTTPS request to the front-end, seamlessly updating the user progress as they use the device.
- By serializing the data, the information can be transferred in real-time, allowing user progress to be visualized as they use the device.
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- Website and App - Flutter/Expo
- Ordering the kit and signing up
- Tracking progress
- Solidity
- Ethereum smart contracts use Solidity for transparency, as they allow us to clearly outline the pre-programmed terms and conditions.
- All the transactions will be securely recorded on the blockchain.
- A contract will also guarantee the safety of user privacy.
- SolidWorks
- The gadget was constructed using SolidWorks. The wristband was created with various screw holes, so that there is versatility in where the various components can be mounted, to allow for the most optimal position of the motor and the tensioning device.
- CURA
- After an assembly was created with all the components. Each component is converted to G-Code via CURA for the Ender 3 V2.
- Next, the rings were printed with TPU (flexible filament) for flexibility and comfort and the mounts for the gadget were made with PLA for its rigidity and inexpensiveness.
- Tinkercad
- Diagrams and initial programming tests were done via Tinkercad to ensure the Arduino UNO was functioning correctly.
- Consult with professionals to optimize and refine the design.
- Create a better prototype with a snapdragon chip, customized PCB board and Bluetooth connectivity.
- Different prototypes to target other areas of the body, such as feet and toe mobility.
- Potentially extend into the fitness target with increased tension variety to target specialized muscular hypertrophy.
[1] Cost associated with stroke: outpatient rehabilitative services and medication
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8606991/
[3] As inflation heats up, 64% of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck
[4] Arm Rehabilitation | SpringerLink
[5] Slideshow Stroke Rehab to Regain Arm Movement
[6] American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2009-2020)