Systems and methods for neurologic rehabilitation

Inventors

McCarthy, Owen • Harris, Brian • Kalpaxis, Alex

Assignees

Medrhythms Inc

Abstract

A method and system for rehabilitation of a patient having a physical impairment by providing music therapy, the method being implemented on a computer system having one or more physical processors configured by machine-readable instructions which, when executed perform the method, includes receiving biomechanical data from the patient regarding repetitive movements of the patient and determining a baseline condition; determining a baseline beat tempo having a constant frequency based on the baseline condition; providing music to the patient, the music having beat signals at the baseline beat tempo; providing a cue to the patient to perform each repetitive movement in time with an associated beat signal; receiving time-stamped biomechanical data of the patient relating to the repetitive movements performed by the patient in time with the baseline beat signals; analyzing the biomechanical data to identify an onset time of one or more cycles of the repetitive movement; determining an entrainment parameter based on the onset time and the associated beat signal; modifying the baseline beat tempo based on the entrainment parameter; and determining whether a goal beat tempo has been reached.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to rehabilitation of a patient having a physical impairment by providing music therapy during a therapy session. The patient is provided music having beat signals at a beat tempo, and the patient attempts to perform repetitive movements in time with the beat signals. The system receives time-stamped biomechanical data of the patient relating to the repetitive movements, and the biomechanical data is measured using a sensor.

The invention analyzes the time-stamped biomechanical data to identify an onset time of one or more repetitive movements, measures a delay between the onset time and the output time of the associated beat signal, and determines an entrainment parameter based on the measured delay or on a temporal relationship between each repetitive movement and its associated beat signal. The entrainment parameter is used to modify the music or rhythmic audio content during the therapy session, and the therapy session is continued using the modified music or modified rhythmic audio content.

The invention further supports real-time definitions and decision logic for entrainment and movement timing. The onset time can be defined as when a prescribed identifiable event occurs during a repetitive movement, and cueing functionality can be provided to help the patient perform each repetitive movement in time with an associated beat signal. Music modification can include providing modification instructions that adjust beat tempo, beat signals, and other music characteristics.

In addition to entrainment-based music modification, the invention can classify a symmetry of a patient’s gait or classify a deficit in repetitive movement and then modify the music based on the entrainment parameter together with the classified feature. The music modification approach can include adjusting tempo toward a goal beat tempo and can be conditioned on calculated differences and additional parameters such as entrainment potential.

Claims Coverage

The document contains three independent claims. Each independent claim is centered on receiving time-stamped biomechanical data, identifying movement onset timing relative to beat-signal output time, determining an entrainment parameter from measured delay or temporal relationship, and modifying music or rhythmic audio content while continuing the therapy session.

Across the independent claims, the core coverage is the closed-loop rehabilitation approach that derives an entrainment parameter from movement onset timing relative to beat-signal output time, and then modifies music or rhythmic audio content accordingly while continuing the therapy session.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications

No documented applications found