ROBOTIC REHABILITATION

Atlanta tech company Motus Nova uses AI-assisted technology to help stroke and brain injury survivors.

Motus Nova founder and CEO David Wu and chief scientific officer Dr. Nick Housley. PHOTO COURTESY OF MOTUS NOVA

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivor Nick Housley, PhD, PDT, PT, understands how important efficient, high-quality rehabilitation is to people with neurological injuries. He’s the chief scientific officer of Atlanta-based Motus Nova LLC (motusnova.com), founded by David Wu and named one of the top 10 innovative technology companies in the state by the Technology Association of Georgia. In this role, he leads a team of skilled telehealth experts dedicated to accelerating at-home recovery for those with brain and stroke injuries using an AI-assisted technology. Designed for the weaker limb, the Motus Hand and Foot contain robotic exoskeletons equipped with sensors and actuators to digitize movement and muscle actions, becoming a “surrogate for a therapist’s hands in the field,” says Dr. Housley.

Not only does the technology allow for remote evaluation and intervention, but it rapidly responds to each patient’s needs in real time, creating a personalized, high-dose repetitive rehabilitation program that retrains the brain. Some Motus users report 15 to 30 hours per week of at-home rehabilitation—often more than they would receive in a traditional therapy setting— and clinical studies have shown that higher doses of therapy are one of the key drivers of functional gains. In addition to working remotely with therapists, patients can independently play over 20 on-demand, rehabilitation-focused games and track their progress in real time, making the repetitions needed for movement gains engaging and fun. For example, games like the Strongman and Thermometer are designed to improve gross motor capabilities, range of motion and reduce tone. Others, like Fishing and Brick Breaker, “require individuals to rapidly change hand positions and often require small amplitude movements... a level of control [that] is especially important to tasks such as writing or manipulating small objects,” explains Housley. He also says these games “provide biofeedback directly to those engaging in rehab and can transmit that data to a physical or occupational therapist who can analyze and incorporate it in their clinical decision-making to optimize improvements.”

Already used in more than 200 hospitals and clinics across the country, Motus hopes to fill that gap in rehabilitation access for the country’s 7 million stroke survivors, many of whom live in rural areas and long distances from treatment centers. “Having a robotic device in the home overcomes one of the biggest barriers of traditional healthcare, which is access,” says Housley.