Motivation
The motivation for Podwear started at Stanford Hospital in the stroke rehabilitation department. Frustrated over the lack of objective, quantitative metrics, the doctors and therapists sought help from Stanford Engineering students. Podwear provides the doctors and therapists with the tools they need to reliably evaluate the abilities and progress of their patients.
Stroke Overview
Stroke is the leading cause of disability in the United States. A stroke is caused by a lack of blood to the brain. After having a stroke, the patient is taken to the hospital for evaluation. Many of these patients have disabilities on one side of their body and are unable to walk, hold a cup, or perform activities of daily living. Therefore, these patients go to rehabilitation to regain these important functions. The first six months are generally when most of the recovery occurs.
Qualitative tests
During rehabilitation, patient disabilities and progress are evaluated with qualitative tests. There is a huge lack of reliable data about what the patient can and cannot do. Objective tests are needed!
Drop foot and Imbalance
Two main effects of lower limb disability are drop foot and imbalance while walking. Drop foot is the inability to flex the toes up, which leads to trip hazards while walking and an overall unnatural gait. Imbalance is also a major issue, and causes falls.
Summary
There is no cure for stroke. Doctors and clinicians need quantitative, objective data to better evaluate patient disabilities and to understand whether or not the patients are making sufficient progress with a certain treatment. Podwear is the solution.
[1]: http://www.missouribaptist.org/MedicalServices/StrokeCenter.aspx