veiioSense
Almost two thirds of the German population complains of back pain, with one fifth even being affected by chronic, almost daily pain. In 2020 around 4.5 million patients received a total of 83.4 million physiotherapeutic treatments due to such back problems. With that, physiotherapy in particular is one of the most personnel intensive areas of medical care in Germany. The risk of opening up a huge gap in care seems almost inevitable regarding the fact that by 2035 nearly 40 percent of Germany’s rural areas will be underserved of healthcare services.
The interdisciplinary project and spin-off initiative 'veiio' tackles this challenge by developing a digital physiotherapy assistant designed to support therapists and patients, particularly during home exercises, through an intelligent wearable shirt.
The Technisches Design team is working in collaboration with the Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital of the TU Dresden and the Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Digital Health to define the conditions and requirements of such a system. Together, they are investigating the impact on the pain level and the quality of exercises for the patients. The design of a motivating interaction between users, the wearable, and the digital assistant plays a special role, with the goal of inspiring patients towards a sustainable, healthy, and active lifestyle. Furthermore, the research focuses on the acceptance and controllability of the underlying AI in conjunction with a novel smart textile shirt.