The impact of embedded vision on patient rehabilitation

6th March 2024

e-con Systems

Harry Fowle

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Patient rehabilitation is a comprehensive process aimed at restoring or improving an individual's physical, mental, or functional abilities after illness, injury, or surgery. It encompasses a range of therapies and interventions tailored to address specific impairments and challenges faced by patients. This blog explores how advanced camera features enabled by embedded vision technology can be utilised to enhance the effectiveness and patient-friendliness of rehabilitation processes.

The medical industry has transformed remarkably in the past decade by integrating new-age technology into patient care. Patient rehabilitation is one of the fields that faces technical challenges. It requires highly advanced devices providing accurate functionalities and data-driven insights. These devices, more or less, were required to imitate human capabilities precisely to become a perfect replacement for human cognition.

High-resolution cameras are essential in different rehabilitation equipment. They track and analyse movements in physical therapy, assess motor skills in occupational therapy, and aid cognitive rehabilitation devices.

Read on to learn how rehabilitation and embedded vision go hand in hand!

Role of cameras in rehabilitation therapy

Physical therapy

Physical therapy is a process of restoring or improving the body’s movements, sensations, strength, and balance through targeted exercise and activities. In physical therapy rehabilitation, motion-tracking systems utilise high-resolution cameras to capture and analyse the body’s motion during exercises or activities.

High-resolution camera-equipped devices are used to assist in motion tracking and analysis. These devices monitor joint angles, muscle activation, and overall body mechanics, providing therapists with detailed insights into movement patterns.

High-resolution cameras with high frame rates are ideal for physical therapy equipment. Cameras that cover wide areas can capture minuscule movements. Also, auto-focus capabilities are preferred for better results. These features help in capturing detailed movements in challenging conditions.

Occupational therapy

Occupational therapy restores an individual’s function to perform daily activities at home, work, and in the community. This may mean building motor skills, improving balance, or helping the patient use adaptive equipment.

Occupational therapy devices rely on cameras to assess motor skills and help patients adapt to devices. The adaptive systems used for occupational therapy use cameras to assist users in daily tasks. For instance, tools designed for individuals with impaired motor skills or limited dexterity use cameras to track hand movements and interpret gestures. This, in turn, enables good control over devices like computers or home appliances. These smart devices offer a level of independence and functionality that enhances the quality of life for individuals undergoing occupational therapy.

Multi-camera systems are often used in occupational therapy to capture nuanced movements, enabling therapists to develop strategies for skill development. These systems can capture images from multiple angles, which helps in systematic analysis. Also, cameras with variable focus capabilities, often employing zoom lenses, are preferred to capture detailed interactions. The resulting data can be integrated with image processing software, which can be used for real-time analysis of motor skills.

Cognitive rehabilitation

Cognitive rehabilitation is an evidence-based intervention designed to improve cognitive functioning in brain-injured or otherwise cognitively impaired individuals to restore normal functioning or to compensate for cognitive deficits. In cognitive rehabilitation, cameras support assistive devices compensating for lost cognitive skills like vision or spatial abilities. These devices are artificial intelligence integrated to make it better adaptable for humans.

The cameras used for cognitive therapy assist in developing devices like visual compensation aids. These have a good low-light performance and are used in AI-driven devices for image clarity.

AI-enabled cameras equipped with low-light sensors and adaptive algorithms excel in capturing clear images in challenging environments. Image enhancement features, including noise reduction and contrast optimisation, augment visual data captured by the assistive devices.

Camera features for rehabilitation devices

High resolution

High-resolution cameras give pixel-level details, which helps in advanced analysis. The factors determining a well performing high-resolution camera are the sensor type, pixel count, optical components, frame rate, and image processing capabilities.

High-resolution cameras commonly employ CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) sensors due to their flexibility, lower power consumption, and ability to accommodate high pixel counts. These sensors enable the capture of detailed images by converting light into electronic signals. Image processing algorithms are used along with these to enhance image quality, reduce noise, correct distortions, and optimise dynamic range, ensuring the accuracy and fidelity of captured data for movement analysis. These cameras also require a high frame rate to assess rapid movements.

Auto-focus

Auto-focus cameras utilise contrast or phase-detection techniques. This ensures continuous image clarity during dynamic movements. These cameras can rapidly adjust focal lengths to maintain image details, critical for error-free motion analysis.

Multi-camera capabilities

Synchronised multi-camera setups, interconnected through high-speed interfaces like ethernet or USB3, eliminate motion blur and rolling shutter artifacts. These setups facilitate comprehensive coverage of movements from multiple perspectives, enhancing the depth of data captured for rehabilitation analysis.

AI capabilities

AI-powered cameras employ neural networks for real-time image enhancement, enabling clear capture in low-light environments in rehabilitation settings. These cameras utilise adaptive algorithms to improve image quality, which helps cognitive rehabilitation devices rely on visual data compensation.