Revolutionizing Stroke Recovery: A Look at the UBC Smart Glove

Wednesday - January 17 2024, 18:48 UTC - 10 months ago

The UBC smart glove, a collaboration between researchers at UBC and Texavie, is a game-changing wearable technology that can track and transmit hand and finger movements to aid in stroke rehabilitation. With its potential for improving stroke recovery and applications in other fields such as virtual and augmented reality gaming, this innovative and affordable technology has the potential to revolutionize how we approach movement and interaction.

Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting millions of people every year. One of the most common and devastating consequences of stroke is the loss of hand function, which can severely impair the ability to perform daily activities and reduce the quality of life.

However, a new wearable tech developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) may offer hope for stroke survivors who want to regain their hand functions. The wearable is a "smart glove" that can track and transmit the hand and finger movements of the wearer during rehabilitation exercises.

The smart glove is part of a pilot study involving a group of stroke survivors in B.C. this month. They will wear the glove while doing exercises supervised by Dr. Janice Eng, a professor of medicine at UBC and a renowned stroke rehabilitation expert.

Dr. Eng says the smart glove can help monitor the patient's progress and provide feedback for improving exercise programs. "With this glove, we can monitor patients' hand and finger movements without needing cameras. We can then analyze and fine-tune their exercise programs for the best possible results, even remotely," she says.

How the smart glove works .

The smart glove results from a collaboration between Dr. Eng and Dr. Peyman Servati, an electrical and computer engineering professor at UBC, and Arvin Tashakori, his Ph.D. student. They are also the founders of Texavie, a startup specializing in smart textiles and wearable devices.

The smart glove is made of a stretchy fabric that contains a network of sensor yarns and pressure sensors. These sensors can detect and capture even the smallest hand and finger movements and grasping force and wirelessly transmit them to a computer or a smartphone.

Dr. Servati and his team published a paper in Nature Machine Intelligence last week describing the smart glove's technical details and breakthroughs. "This is the most accurate glove we know of that can track hand and finger movement and grasping force without requiring motion-capture cameras. Thanks to the machine learning models we developed, the glove can accurately determine the angles of all finger joints and the wrist as they move. The technology is highly precise and fast, capable of detecting small stretches and pressures and predicting movement with at least 99-percent accuracy—matching the performance of costly motion-capture cameras," they write.

The smart glove also has other advantages over existing products in the market. It is wireless and comfortable and can be easily washed after removing the battery. Dr. Servati and his team have developed advanced methods to manufacture smart gloves and related apparel locally at a relatively low cost.

How the smart glove can revolutionize other fields .

The smart glove is a tool for stroke recovery and a game-changer for other fields involving involvement and interactions. Dr. Servati says he envisions a seamless transition of the glove into the consumer market with ongoing improvements in collaboration with different industrial partners. He also sees potential virtual and augmented reality applications, such as using the smart glove for gesture-based control in gaming and virtual rehabilitation exercises.

With its potential to improve the quality of life for stroke survivors and its applications in other fields, the UBC smart glove is a promising example of how technology can be used for the greater good.