The life expectancy of the average American continues to increase. Seniors (people 65 years and older) of today live longer and seek more independence than their predecessors just a decade ago. With this increased desire for independence comes a growing emphasis on maintaining mobility. The number of hip and knee replacements performed in the U.S. is expected to double every five years in response to the growing senior population [510].Rural seniors (24% of those over 65) are no exception to this trend. Unlike their counterparts in urban areas, rural seniors who undergo orthopedic surgeries, like hip and knee replacements, often lack access to post-surgical rehabilitation facilities in their communities. In addition, new reimbursement models for these surgeries will increase risks to rural seniors due to limited access to quality clinicians and home health aids. MobilityCoach, a new technology under development by CreateAbility Concepts, Inc. (an Indiana-based small business) will fill the gap via an enhanced tele-rehabilitation system. MobilityCoach will help rural seniors stay compliant with required rehabilitation routines and return to mobility and function--without leaving their own communities. This project will demonstrate the technical merit, feasibility and cost effectiveness of MobilityCoach. The MobilityCoach system combines gaming technology with an innovative approach and state-of-the-art software to deliver an advanced system capable of increasing the exercise compliance during rehab for older rural Americans. In addition, MobilityCoach will be designed to support tracking of pain medication use, assess fall risk, and improve care coordination with clinicians and care givers. Phase I objectives are: 1) determine end user requirements, 2) develop a proof-of-concept prototype of the system, and 3) evaluate of the utility of the prototype with actual rural seniors who represent a cross-section of health status or functional limitations.Phase II will focus on adding pain med monitoring, fall prediction, and testing with rehab patients in their homes to drive refinement and usability of the system. Anticipated Results and Commercial Applications At the conclusion of this SBIR Project, Createability Concepts, Inc. will have fully developed the MobilityCoach system in preparation for commercialization. The demand for the MobilityCoach is expected to be high among the target population who wishes to return to full mobility and function after orthopedic surgery allowing them to age in place. Post-surgery challenges include: 1) the need to reduce pain med usage; 2) reduce the risk of falls; 3) overcome the issue of low proximity to rehab professionals; and, 4) a need for coordination of a rehab plan with a team of remote clinicians and care givers. The Primary customer (payer) is the bundled payment team who want to enhance the coordination with the rural senior and minimize the risk of non-compliance.
