National I-Corps Alum continues to find success

An aging population combined with an increased focus on wellness is creating more need for physical therapy. However, even those who would benefit from it often struggle to adhere to a consistent appointment schedule due to time limitations and the travel necessary to meet with a physical therapist in-person. Patients also become less likely to adhere to the regimen once they are tasked with doing the exercises on their own at home.

Learn more at the link below about how Immergo Labs, a UCSC spinout and recent national NSF I-Corps program alumni, aims to solve this challenge by developing an immersive telehealth platform for physical therapists:

https://www.fogartyinnovation.org/immergo-labs-reimagines-physical-therapy-to-improve-outcomes-for-patients-and-providers/

“The challenge with current telehealth options is that they are limited in their ability to set the cameras at the right angles to get accurate metrics and successfully evaluate patients,” explained Michael Powell, Immergo Labs’ co-founder and CEO. That led to their creation of a technology based on the 3D environment of virtual reality (VR). “You can move around each other, demonstrate exercises and collect metrics for range of motion, strength and balance, which are the metrics physical therapists most seek in a teleplatform,” he said. 

The software platform uses novel IP involving full body avatars to deliver detailed metrics that would be impossible to gather otherwise, allowing the practitioner to see if the patient is doing the exercises correctly and log progress over time.