Michael Hutchison, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, is one of 10 recipients of the 2019-20 Connaught Innovation Award, which recognizes and supports promising technologies with strong socio-economic or commercial potential. The award is made possible by the Connaught Fund, the largest internal university research funding program in Canada, created in 1972 from the sale of the Connaught Laboratories, which produced vaccines, antitoxins and insulin after it was discovered by Frederick Banting and Charles Best.
Hutchison was awarded for developing a mobile rehabilitation tool for individuals suffering from concussion, who lack the resources, time or knowledge to handle their condition expertly. The mobile rehabilitation tool is called RHEA and draws on Hutchison’s clinical and research experience, which has found that starting graded aerobic exercise early following concussion can speed up recovery and improve functional outcomes – more so than just resting.
“Despite such evidence, there still remains a lack of awareness and education regarding the initial medical management of concussion,” says Hutchison, who is director of the concussion program at the MacIntosh Sport Medicine Clinic. “The situation is further complicated by the fact that appointments with physicians and specialists occur approximately every one to two weeks, leaving patients at times to navigate and manage their symptoms without having the required knowledge or skills to do so.”
He believes mobile health technologies or Apps have the potential to help fill this void, as they are well suited to serve as platforms for the self-management of various health conditions.
“They are ubiquitous, have great computational capabilities and are commonly carried on the person. RHEA will utilize these benefits through novel machine learning algorithms that will leverage user-reported feedback, as well as data acquired from the wearable technology, to provide users with recommended, personalized exercise programs over a three to five day period to assist with the rehabilitation process,” he says.
Hutchison calls the Connaught Innovation Award an exciting milestone for RHEA.
“Everyone involved in the project is very excited by an entrepreneurial opportunity that fills an important void in the rehabilitation of individuals with concussion and gives us a platform for research to inform future intervention options. With the aid of the Connaught Innovation Award, we will begin the roll out of the App, founded on rigorous scientific research around user experience, usability and effectiveness.”
Hutchison is looking forward to having the App available on both Apple and Android devices, following beta testing that is currently underway. Down the road, there is also an opportunity for RHEA to be tailored to health conditions beyond concussion including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety.
“The benefit of structured and individualized exercise is a very promising, low risk and cost-effective intervention,” he says.